Eden Isle
by L'Morgan
Summary: Action, Adventure & Mystery entwine Jack, Will, Elizabeth and more on their way to the Colonies and beyond! Who shot Commodore Norrington? What awaits them during their visit to the New World? What things from the past may haunt them all? R&R!
1. Chpt 1 The Journal of Dr Cook

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Summary: Mystery and Adventure await Jack and his crew in this 'New World Journey'. Some characters and background story elements are from a previous story 'Aftermath', also by me. You might want to read that one first! For anyone who enjoyed 'Aftermath', I am sorry this took so long to get going! The story line had changed so much over the months that I have started over with this new title!_

_Action/Adventure Rated: MatureTeen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings.  
_

**CHAPTER ONE: THE JOURNAL OF DR. COOK**

Doctor Cook entered the cabin near the front of the ship. Once this had been a storage room, but when he had come aboard, the ship's Captain had assigned him this room as his quarters. After the boxes and crates had been removed, it had only been a matter of persuading the spiders and occasional mouse to relocate.

At first, he had strongly suspected his assignment of quarters was the pirate captain's not-so-subtle form of discouraging him from staying on the ship. But if Jack Sparrow thought it was that easy to get him to head home early, then he had yet to learn a few things about Doctor Edmund Robertson Cook!

It wasn't a large area, being built into the bow of the ship as it was, so it had a triangular shape, and then divided into two separate rooms. One of them served as his quarters, the other served as Ana Maria's quarters as she was the first mate aboard the ship.

You could hear whoever was walking above you on the foredeck, but that wasn't so bad. Actually it more than served him adequately well and the one brief rainstorm they had come through had assured him that it didn't even leak! He sat down at the cherry wood writing desk beside the wall that faced the door, and lit the gleaming brass lantern.

From one of the many desk drawers, he took out quill and ink and the large red leather covered book that served as his personal journal. Not that he thought anyone would ever read it, but he enjoyed recording life aboard the notorious pirate ship, the Black Pearl. He glanced at the calendar on the wall beside him and frowned. Lord's Stars, was it the almost the end of September already?

It certainly hadn't seemed that long since he had first suggested he serve as the acting 'ship's physician' to earn his passage! Yes, he was accompanying Elizabeth and William Turner on they voyage because of the young lady's being with child - but said condition was not even yet apparent and so it wasn't as if she needed his services every day.

This trip to the Colonies was so the young man could visit with a master sword smith, and at the same time they could visit a few of Governor Swan's relatives for the holiday season. His presence was more of a safeguard than anything else. He might as well be useful since he was along for the trip. The crew at least seemed to approve of the idea of having a physician on board. Of course, they were pirates - not exactly the safest or most healthy profession of practice?

It's not like he was a 20 something year old student barely out of medical school who could hardly tell liver from lung - no, he would be 52 here next spring and had practiced his trade for a good 25 of those years. He was not the oldest man aboard the infamous ship, but he suspected he might just about be the oldest' beginning sailor' in the entire history of ocean travel. So, how did he come to be here and why? Well, pull up a chair some dark and stormy night and perhaps the good doctor will tell you a little story - but not here and now.

'September 21st .. it being the year of our Lord, 1692 and the very first day of autumn,' he added to the top of this page in the journal and then sat staring at it for a long moment. He smiled to himself, thinking about the last 3 weeks of their journey. There had been a few detours - but that was probably to be expected when you traveled with pirates.

'For the third week now Captain Jack's allowed me to conduct a full fledged sick call on Sunday morning. Luckily nothing serious to note this week - a pipe burn, a rash - put two stitches in one sliced thumb that will carry a nice scar but heal well. Gave out oranges to every man aboard the ship and even checked the well being of our 4 resident chickens and one lone mascot of a goat. We continue due west and a bit north - looks like we're headed to the Bahamas. I've never been there, but the crew seems to be smiling more and more every day as if they are pleased with our destination.' He wrote, and then set the quill in its holder.

The pirate captain had made it very clear that he didn't mind if the doctor saw to his crew, but that he himself would not be needing his services, no of course not! And so he'd given him space on a lower deck for his 'infirmary' and had allowed him to hold 'sick call' a few times here recently. The truth be told, so far the doctor had immensely enjoyed being an extra pair of hands wherever needed and the crew members had been at least fairly patient with his lack of experience.

It was indeed a motley assortment of men, and yes, one woman who made up the crew of the Black Pearl. There was the youngest of them all, a boy who could barely be called a man, by the name of Jeremy. The doctor would easily swear Jeremy could not be more than 17 and still in his 'first season' at sea.

Eager to please the lad was and seemed to follow Mr. Gibbs around quite loyally. Jeremy had managed to skewer his thumb with a rather nasty looking fishing hook here recently. God only knows what they intended on trying to catch out here in the ocean. He had decided against asking!

Then there was Mr. Cotton - the oldest of the crew. He guessed the man to be probably in his late 60s perhaps even - a quite remarkable feat for a pirate in and of itself! Of course the man couldn't tell him his age - and unfortunately the parrot was quite unable to count, as of yet anyway. Mr. Cotton was literally a story book of a life at sea with scars and scrapes, gouges and marks. Somehow he had managed to lose his tongue, but yet avoid anything otherwise life threatening. Either the man had a very good sense of impending danger or luck rode on his other shoulder opposite that colorful bird of his. He had given the man an herbal tea after noticing that the older sailor sometimes seemed a bit stiff in the damp early morning air.

Then came to mind Mr. Gregory Scott, but called 'Scotch' by his shipmates. Scotch was in his mid 30s or so. seemed extremely competent - but a bit on the unfriendly side. He was even more superstitious than Gibbs, if that were possible and for some reason seemed to carry an eternal frown on his features as well as a black cloud over his head, for everyone except his Captain. Jack Sparrow was the only one who seemed able to get the man to smile even the slightest bit.

Gruff and few of words the rugged man was, but an excellent cook of long experience. He took great care in his work, but god help the soul who tried to snitch something from the kitchen ahead of meal times! He'd taken after one poor sailor with a meat cleaver on only their second day out at sea! All for the sake of one piece of hard tack! And the reaction of the rest of the crew? Instead of interfere, they had instantly started laying wagers on whether Scotch would catch the poor miscreant!

It was the poor sailor that he'd put three stitches in that night. Not from the meat cleaver, but from when the man tried to escape the cleaver by going under the boom just as it started moving. Silly fool was lucky the thing hadn't taken his head off! After he'd stitched the poor idiots' head up, the fool had spent the rest of the night and all the next day in the brig for his crime. That had seemed to be a bit much to the doctor, but the rest of the crew thought the Captain had been lenient. However, seeing as the man had already received justice at the hands of the ship' boom itself they had seemed satisfied and the matter was long forgotten by now.

And the Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow. The doctor smiled. Jack was still a bit of a puzzle to him. He'd had one previous encounter with treating the pirate, so now of course the man avoided him like the very plague itself. He sighed slightly as he considered the book and turned back a few pages in his entries.

He'd made a list of past injuries of the crew that he thought might end up as health issues. Several had the misfortune to have managed to contract malaria in their lifetimes, but at least none showed signs of consumption. These were important things for him to know - he was after all in charge of their health and safety for the duration.

Nearly every one of them had been quite willing to talk with him once they realized all he wanted was to hear the astounding tale of how they'd managed to receive this scar or that missing finger. Except of course for the infamous captain himself. He knew the man carried several tattoos as well as the brand on his right arm, but how he had gotten the lightening- like branch of scars on his left he could not imagine. Of course, the round of lead shot the captain carried as a souvenir in his lung was far more likely to cause him problems than any scar upon skin ever would.

The ship's top deck watch's bell clanged softly, interrupting his thoughts, and he automatically counted the strikes.

'one two... three four.. five six... seven eight..' - it was 'eight bells' then as Gibbs would say, or, 8pm in the 'real world'.

Strange how many things on the pirate ship were shared in common with all ships - even ones of the British Navy. Or maybe they were just things in common with all ships everywhere. 8pm - and by the pirate's code, that meant it was time for lights out below deck. Any sailor who wanted to stay up either sat in the dark, or came up on deck for their entertainment. He blew out the lantern, left the book open to dry and then stepped out the door and into the rapidly descending night.

Already there was a small group of sailors gathered around a clutch of lanterns, crates drawn up to sit upon or up against. Several of them smiled at seeing him. Slowly more filtered up, someone bringing a harmonica and another a kazoo and one even some sort of flute-like type instrument. Then began the doctor's favorite part of the evenings; stories of old, tall tales and legends, all told with a grin by those who had lived them, or heard of others who supposedly had. He laughed along with the rest of them and smiled at the friendly teasing of the current story teller by his comrades.

He looked up when someone jostled him and gladly accepted the offered cup of coffee from the tray. He had to try hard not to choke at the gallant attempts of a 'jig' performed by two of the men to a cheerful tune offered up by the informal musicians. The ship erupted in laughter, but of a good natured kind and then rewarded their 'performers' with applause and whistles. As the night drew on it grew cooler and the stars brighter as now the more traditional songs were taught to yet another generation of sailors, much as they had been for centuries before.

The Doctor looked down the length of the ship to where the one light still could be seen to be burning in the Captain's cabin. Of course the Captain was the one officer not bidden to obey the order for lights out, but it was unusual for him to be busy so late in the evening. He slowly made his way over to Mr. Gibbs who was currently sharing an end of a crate with AnaMaria, both grinning broadly at the 'moral of the tale' that had just been told.

"Hey there Edmund! Need a warm up for that cup? We got just the thing right here!" Gibbs offered as he held up a bottle of rum and the doctor smiled and shook his head.

"No, that's quite alright! Last time I took you up on that little offer I had one part coffee to 6 parts rum and the most god-awful headache come morning -" he shot back and the older man grinned and shrugged. The doctor noticed the older sailor cast a glance back towards the Captain's cabin as well.

"What's Jack up to tonight?" Edmund asked and Gibbs frowned mildly.

"Not much that I know about. He said anything to you Ana?" he asked and she shook her head with a mild frown.

"I'll go see. That fool will give himself a headache if he's trying to look at those charts and books of his by the light of a lantern. Considerin' that I have first watch tonight an' I don't need him wandering around checking and rechecking every little thing - I'll just go see what he's up to." She said as she got up, taking her cup with her and Gibbs smiled after her.

When she hadn't returned after awhile the older sailor decided to go take a look-see of his own, not minding if the doctor tagged along. He paused at the door and knocked softly, only to find it ajar. It swung open some and he tapped on it as he pushed it the rest of the way open to find the man did indeed have the table before him covered with charts and papers of all assorted sizes and kinds with only one lantern lit to see them by. A sextant, rulers, protractor and calipers all rested here and there at hand. Currently however the pirate was sitting back in his chair, looking at her as if rather amused as she perched on the edge of his table and he sipped at her cup that he now held.

"We botherin' you Jack?" Gibbs asked and the pirate glanced over at him with a mild smile.

"No - I suppose not." He said as he pushed the papers aside some and pushed back his chair to park one booted foot on the table edge, his chair balanced back on its rear two legs as he lowered his head and rubbed at his forehead with his eyes closed.

"Too late to keep you from getting' that headache I see." Ana observed and he smiled a little, but didn't open his eyes. The doctor handed his cup to Gibbs, and then moved over behind the man, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. He tipped him forward so the other legs of the chair were on the floor as at the same time he gently rubbed at the man's neck and then across his shoulders, thumbs focused on the spot directly at the base of the pirate's head.

"Oh god." the pirate groaned in relief at first. Then he opened his eyes to set the cup on the table and saw her still on the table before him. He would have surely fallen over, chair and all, by how quickly he spun around to see who was behind him. Before he could even voice a protest the doctor turned him back to facing forward.

"Hush - I haven't touched you once since I came aboard this ship. You've been letting me tend to all the splinters and gashes and cuts and bruises for everyone else just fine. so just relax - good lord you're tense. Feels like your knots have knots back here. Are you upset about something?" he asked of the charts and the pirate shook his head as he apparently decided not to continue his objection to the other's touch.

"No, not really. We have another French merchant coming our way in about two more days if we stay on this course. Not really eager to see a French flag at the moment myself - but the boys would probably appreciate the fun." He remarked as he reached forward and slid a chart towards him. The doctor frowned mildly.

"How do you know its coming?" he asked as he continued to gently knead the man's knotted muscles and the one smiled.

"They always have a ship reaching port by the first of October here and this is where they come through. Usually there's 3 of them at least, spread out by a good 2 to three weeks. We took the one we found what, about 10, 11 days ago or so? They're delivering winter supplies and clothing and medical wares to different ports for the season before the seas get too rough." He said as he finally seemed to relax under the doctor's experienced touch, and Ana perked up.

"Winter clothes? We could sure use those Jack.. Some of the boys are new this season and don't have much more than the 2 shirts they been wearin' all summer. That last one had a lot of everyday supplies we needed, but it wasn't much on clothes an' such," She said and he nodded.

"That's exactly why I'm looking for the thing. Can't see the boys wearing much in the way of the silk we have down in the hold now. Some of the grain we'll keep, but silk?" He said ruefully with an absent gesture and the doctor frowned at him.

"We can't stop and just buy some warmer clothing?" he asked and Jack arched an eyebrow up at him incredulously and then gave him a rather mischievous gold toned smile.

"Umm - we do happen to be pirates sir, in case you've forgotten? I'm not buying anything I can get some other way. Besides, relax man; England, Spain, the Dutch, we're all allied with each other and at war with the French. It isn't exactly robbery on the high seas when you're at war with that country in the first place already. And it is a French merchant I'm expectin'." He said dismissingly with a loose wave of one hand, and the doctor frowned mildly.

"I doubt the French see it that way." He observed as he focused his thumbs on one area in particular and the pirate shifted a little so he could reach it easier.

"No, but I doubt they think too kindly of Commodore Norrington when he goes after them with the Dauntless either. Look at it this way Doc, when Norrington finds them, his objective is to take them prisoner and usually sink their ship. The men aboard it fight him, some of them die, some of his die, those that live end up being held someplace as prisoners of war in England or are ransomed back to their families. Either way it's not a very pleasant experience for them." He said, hands casually describing small currents in the air and the doctor nodded. Jack smiled a bit maliciously now.

"Now if we find them, I will give them the chance to just surrender first, I always do. If they resist that, we'll use my lovely long range cannons to put a few holes in their rigging and sails, maybe take out a mast or two. Most of them surrender at that point in time. If they don't well then there will be some closer action, but most merchants would rather surrender than fight you to the death." He said and both Gibbs and Ana nodded emphatically.

"We take their goods, leave them alive, with their ship, and they get to sail home and report us to their authorities and eventually they'll return with another shipment of goods. In reality, for the men on the ship, it's much better if they run into me than if they run into Norrington. They aren't equipped to fight him anymore than they are equipped to fight me! But I don't want them as prisoners anymore than they want to be prisoners, savvy?" The pirate told him with a rather smug look, one hand lazily tracing a path through the air as he spoke. The doctor smiled and nodded.

He did something in the man's shoulders, then grabbed him with one arm across his chest and one by his shoulder and half turned him abruptly. There was a loud cracking noise and the pirate startled violently and the one quickly let go and moved out of the pirate captain's reach.

"What the devil do you think you're doin' ye blasted pest of a -" Jack started in indignant protest, then stopped and moved his shoulder carefully with a surprised look up at the man behind him.

"Better?" the doctor asked as he came back closer and the pirate nodded with a still rather surprised look as the doctor rubbed at his shoulders a little more, being gentle with the one he'd gotten the 'crack' noise from.

"Much better. That's been sore for a long time. What did you do to me?" Jack asked curiously and the doctor chuckled as he pat him and moved away to reclaimed his cup from Gibbs.


	2. Chpt 2 Sky Dragons

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan _

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Summary: Mystery and Adventure await Jack and his crew in this 'Colonial Journal'. Some characters and background story elements are from a previous story 'Aftermath', also by me. You might want to read that one first!_

_Action/Adventure Rated: MatureTeen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings.  
_

**CHAPTER TWO: SKY DRAGONS**

"Professional secret. See what happens if you actually let the ship's doctor get near you? Sometimes it helps?"the doctorasked a bit teasingly and the pirate gave him a rueful look as he moved his shoulder again and seemed pleased.

"All right, so on occasion ye can be a useful variety of a pest - I suppose." the pirate said in a bit of a grudging tone and Gibbs nearly choked on his drink and then gave the doctor a wink as he grinned approvingly at him.

"You done for the night Jack?" Ana asked hopefully and he nodded.

"Yeah - there isn't really anything to do at the moment. As long as we stay on this heading anyway. We have to get over to where the French merchant ship will come by before we can look for them. Should be a quiet night." He said and she smiled as she came over beside him.

"Where are we anyway?" the doctor asked as he considered the map on the table and the pirate looked at the maps and pointed.

"Well, we left Port Royal here, and then we went northwest to the Cayman Islands, where we sold those crates I had in the hold. From there, we went back south of Jamaica, then east and south of Hispaniola, over to Puerto Rico. That's where we spent those two days in San Juan." He said and the doctor gave him a reproving look.

"And where you nearly got thrown in jail by the Spanish? What was it you were doing? Selling them back their own - whatever it was?" he asked and Gibbs sighed and rolled his eyes.

"All right - so I forgot to check to make sure which one we were selling to who! It was a mistake! It's dark down in that hold! I would have sworn it was the French wine Jack, I told you that! And I had no idea that ring was in that little chest. It sure didn't look like some kind of Spanish royal emblem to me!" he said and the pirate smiled broadly and waved him silent.

"No worries mate. It all worked out in the end. We got away didn't we?" he asked and the doctor gave him a reproving look.

"By the skin of your teeth," Ana muttered down at him with a reproving but gentle tug on his hair in the back and the pirate beamed a bemused grin up at her.

"That's all it takes love, that's all it takes! After that, well that's when we went up to visit Bellamy in the Virgin Islands." He said and the doctor had to conceal his smile.

"You mean that's where we hid out until those 3 Spanish ships that were looking for us had gone by, that's what we did, You and and Gibbs and Marcus playing cards until dawn" he corrected and Jack gave him a mockingly injured look as he rose.

"You don't think I went to see a fellow member of the Brethren of the Coast, just purely on the basis of a fraternal social call? We pirates have to stick together mate, we're all we got! 'Sides, Marcus Bellamy is a very old friend of mine." He said with a pout and hand briefly over his heart. The doctor grinned.

"So I assumed! Do all pirates claim an island someplace out in the middle of nowhere as their very own, or is he an exception?" he asked and the other three shrugged.

"Not many do." Ana told him and physician shook his head mildly with a smile.

"That was a nice place I have to admit. I'd never seen any of the Virgin Islands before there." He said and Jack shrugged.

"They're all right. A bit too close to the Spanish for my likin', but he seems to do alright with them. After we left Bellamy, we came out on the Atlantic side of the Caribbean and we've been going northwest ever since. The ocean currents are a lot stronger on this side of the Caribbean so that's why we aren't making headway quite as fast.. Plus that little storm that we found blew us east a bit more than I care for." He said as he moved his finger along the map and the doctor looked.

"Norrington once said you favor the Bahamas. We're almost there aren't we?" he asked and the pirate gave a gold toned smile as he nodded.

"Aye, I do like the Bahamas. A zillion and one islands, tons of old lava formation caves, coves and lagoons all over the place. There's one place that has a cave that is so big that we literally sail the Pearl right into the thing when we stop there. Very protected island there. The center of that island was apparently a volcano. Looks like it kind of collapsed in on itself, in the middle, leaving part of the mountain as the outer ring of it. A very interesting place actually." He said, hands describing his words vaguely. The other two pirates smiled at him and the doctor looked between the three of them.

"I take it that island is kind of 'your place'?" he asked and the pirate smiled secretively and half shrugged.

"You might say that I suppose. But we don't need to stop by there on our way out - not this time." He told him with a dismissing wave and half sway to his step as he moved around the table now and the doctor seemed amused.

"You can actually sail this ship into a cave there?" he asked as Jack pushed all the papers towards the center of the table and Gibbs nodded with a broad smile.

"Aye, that ye can! Same cave has just a maze of tunnels branching off of it for stashin' swag in, and outside the cave, the inner circle of that cove has some really pretty waterfalls and a beach like you can't ask for better of. Jack put an actual dock in a few years ago when he first got the Pearl back. That's where we fixed her up. Now you don't even need a row boat to get from the Pearl to the land. Makes it a lot easier." He said and the doctor smiled broadly.

"Do you have a name for this place? Or am I not supposed to know about it?" he asked and Jack seemed amused as he shrugged.

"The boys call it 'Swallows Cove". Mostly because of the cliffs full of birds' nests you see going in. Plus I refused to let them call it anythin' that would attract attention. If ye were to just happen to say you're going' to 'Treasure Cove' - even whisper that in some tavern some night - you'll have the attention of every scoundrel an' scallywag in the house and then some. Say you're going to Swallows Cove' - and nobody is really gonna think about following ye.." He said and paused a beat as he looked down at the map, "Unless or course, they have some sort of obscene obsession with birds nests." He added with an offhanded lazy gesture, and the doctor laughed while the other two grinned widely.

Suddenly there came a knock on the cabin door and they all looked over to see a rather young sailor stick his head in.

"Sorry to interrupt ye' Capt'n Jack - but ye should come look at what's goin on out here maybe?" he asked as if a bit alarmed and Jack frowned as he left the maps on the table and headed towards the door.

"What is it?" he asked as he claimed his long grey coat from a hook on the wall and the man shrugged. Jack stepped outside as he donned his coat, followed by all the others; Gibbs pausing only long enough to blow out the lantern. Jack quickly looked around the deck and didn't see anything out of order. As he reached the circle of sailors on the deck he found them all staring skyward.

"What's goin' on Capt'n?" asked another younger one in a rather fearful tone. Jack followed his gaze upwards to see the stars as always, but then a streak of a falling star, joined by another, then another. He scanned the sky widely to see it full of them.

"Falling stars!" Ana Maria observed with a smile and the younger man looked at her.

"You don't think that's a bad omen of some sort Ana Maria? All I've ever heard is how a bunch of fallin stars means something bad is gonna happen. Really, really bad. Kings dyin, armies getting beat. Entire fleets gettin' sunk by hurricanes. What do ye think is goin' on?" he asked fearfully, and his thoughts were echoed by the uneasy sailors around them. She looked at Jack who smiled as he moved over to stand beside the uncertain young sailor and clapped an easy hand on the lad's shoulder.

"It's called a meteor shower Jeremy. Not unusual for them to happen in the fall actually. As for being lucky or unlucky, well if one hit the ship I'd be worried, but I've never heard of that happening. Even then we could probably patch it up if we were half way lucky. Supposedly they come down as little rocks, most of em no bigger than yer hand. They won't hurt ye. I don't know what makes them, but I have heard a bit of a story about them." He said and the men there all looked at him as he now came around to stand near the lanterns in the center of them and drew a carved pipe from the pocket of his great coat.

"Well, it was when I was over in Singapore. They have some very unusual things over there, and some very strange explanations for things, but ye can bet your share of the stash that many a black hearted pirate floating in Singapore Bay is rejoicing tonight if they're seeing what you're lookin' at lads!" he told them in a spellbinding tone, with a slow dramatic wave of his hand at the stars raining around them. One of the sailors beckoned him over and filled the bowl of the Captain's pipe from his own little bag of tobacco.

"Why's that Capt'n? What do they think they mean?" another asked and the pirate grinned as he turned back to them, tamping down the contents of his pipe with a finger.

"Well, as the story goes, they call 'emSky Dragons - cause of the way you can see the long tails behind em. And they think they're bringing treasure down to earth and hiding it here and there in the ground, under the water, in all kinds of places. Gold, Silver, Jewels, you name it." He said and they looked at him rather doubtfully. Jack raised his hands outwards in a gesture of innocence and with his most winning gold toned smile.

"Don't look at me lads, I didn't make it up - but I heard it more than once there. I didn' say I believed it - but oh I bet there are pirates rejoicing around bonfires tonight if they're seeing all of these. A hundred new searches for treasure will be started in the next few days, you mark my words boys, a hundred at least! Each dragon's gotta find his own place to hide the goods ye see, so there's plenty to hunt for after a night like this!" he told them, and then used a small stick lit from another sailor's pipe to light the bowl of his own.

He inhaled deeply on the pipe and then he turned back to the first uncertain young sailor. "But no, don't worry about 'em son - I've seem 'em before and I'm still here to tell ye that I did." He said very reassuringly and the gathered crew smiled at him as he took another puff and exhaled a smoke ring up at the falling stars with a completely 'at ease' air about the gesture.

After a moment of silence Jack turned to them with a suddenly mischievous grin.

"Well, since thesky dragons are doin' such a fine job for us tonight of replenishin' the treasure to be found, who's got a story to tell of a treasure that's already been found? You boys must've been findin' some pretty good hauls someplace to bring out so many treasure deliverin' dragons all in a single night! You lads been holdin' back on yer ol' Capt'n? Finding swag the last dragons didn't hide so well and fergettin't' tell me, are ye?" he asked teasingly with a dramatic flourish of one hand as he slowly swaggered back and forth with an exaggerated air.

The gathered crew all laughed and drew a little closer around him now; forgetting the mysterious happenings in the sky as their infamously flamboyant Captain commandeered their attention instead.


	3. Chpt 3 Misjudgements

**Eden Isle**

**By: L'Morgan **

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me! _

_Action/Adventure Rated: Mature Teen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

**CHAPTER THREE - MISJUDGMENTS**

Dr. Cook tapped his fingers impatiently on the tabletop in his cabin aboard the infamous Pirate ship 'The Black Pearl'. Nearby sat young William Turner and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Governor of Jamaica. The two of them were playing a card game of some sort with a pile of taffy at stake between them. They had been there for hours now, many hours it seemed, and tension in the room was heavy.

It had all begun that morning when the notorious pirate captain had spied what looked like the expected French merchant ship off the starboard bow. After a very short conference with his first mate, AnaMaria and the grizzled quartermaster, Mr. Gibbs, they had been escorted to the good Doctors' cabin and then locked inside.

First they had heard the muffled shouts and jeers from the pirate crew, which had been suddenly silenced by the roaring thunder of cannon fire – fire directed at the Pearl! Then had come the sickening lurch and sounds of splintering wood, the roar and stench of powder as the Black Pearl had answered in kind…. then had been the shouted commands too muffled to understand, followed by what sounded like the clash of steel on steel, the thunder of blunderbuss and pistols, and the shouts, yells, and screams of men, not all in English but universally understood none the less.

It was certainly not the same sort of thing that had happened the few other times they had been locked up while the crew carried out this or that raid, and thus it had been much more difficult to just sit there and wait, not knowing what had happened or why. Some of the roars and shrieks had been terrifying!

Then had come silence – un-nerving silence – deadly silence even, and still no one had come to release them. They had tried calling, they had tried shouting, they had tried banging – all to no avail – and that had been what seemed like hours ago now.

Finally there came the sound of footsteps approaching – then a key in the lock. It was Mr. Gibbs who appeared before them, his features pale and rather shocked looking, his shirt smeared with blood and black powder, his hair in equal condition. His eyes quickly found the doctor.

"Hey Doc, could you come please? Jack's been asking' fer ye." he said in an almost hushed tone. All 3 quickly leapt up and not a soul objected to their sudden appearance on deck. They all froze for a moment with stunned looks. One of the sails hung by only three corners, another was shot through… part of the deck railing had been blown away and splinters showered everywhere. The smell of freshly spilled blood assaulted them and the same red substance was splattered, smeared and spilled on every imaginable surface.

They followed the quartermaster up the steps to the fantail deck where they saw the red bandana-ed pirate on his knees beside a prone figure. The Captain's white shirt was heavily smeared with blood and he had a strip of cloth tied around one bloodied pants leg. But, it was the stunned look to his features that struck the three first.

"Jack?" the doctor asked as he headed for the man.

Suddenly, he caught sight of the prone man on the deck beside the pirate and did a strong double take, then looked again. Beside the infamous pirate captain lay the equally known Commodore Norrington, the front of the man's white uniform shirt decorated with a large red blossom of blood. Blood trickled from his mouth as well as the military man gave a very weak cough and then groaned heavily. Doctor Cook hurried to his side, knelt beside the man and quickly felt at his pulse and frowned.

"It – it wasn't a French merchant ship after all," the pirate mumbled in a rather dazed tone, taking up the military man's hand in his own. The Commodore seemed to try to focus his eyes on the pirate, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he went suddenly limp and still, his chest rising and falling shallowly.

"Oh my god Jack – what have you done?" Will Turner whispered in a shocked tone behind them. The pirate looked up to give the younger man a stunned look, his eyes haunted and features pale. The doctor bent over the injured Commodore and then scowled hugely at the pirate beside him.

"You'd better pray this man lives Jack. If he dies I swear I will help them hunt you down. Commodore Norrington risked his career, his reputation and more when he let you escape – and this is how you repay him? Where are the rest of his men Jack? Did you let your crew just cold-bloodedly murder them for even daring to confront you? How could you do something like this? " he accused harshly and then he signaled for Will to help him lift the man. They quickly headed for the doctor's sick bay area below deck.

The pirate captain struggled to his feet and wavered very unsteadily for a moment. It was long enough for Elizabeth to storm up to him, eyes full of tears and fury. Without a word she hauled off and slapped the pirate across the face as hard as she possibly could. The pirate spun with the force of her blow and fell into his quartermaster who caught him and carefully stood him back on his feet where the one seemed to still reel.

"If the Commodore dies, I swear to god, I will see you hang Jack – I swear to god I will, if it's the last thing I ever do! How could you? How could you do something like this? And you let your crew murder all the others? You truly are a completely despicable, disgusting, lying pirate…. How could you Jack? He let you go - he let you go - and this is what you do?" she asked as the tears flowed down her cheeks, then suddenly she turned and bolted after the others.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was two hours later that the pirate captain appeared in the sick bay area, his quartermaster and first mate flanking him on either side, the pirate looking pale and anxious. Neither Elizabeth nor Will could even stand to glance at them. Moments later the good doctor came out, a grim frown to his features.

"Well, he's alive – for the moment. It's too early for me to say if he'll make it. A shot like that to the chest - well, normally that kind of wound has a very high mortality rate – as I'm sure you're well aware. I'm afraid all we can do now is wait." he said, scowling at the pirate intensely. AnaMaria scowled back at the doctor, then suddenly stepped in front of the pirate captain and drew him over to a far corner and turned him to face her, making him groan and wince at her touch.

"Now you listen to me Jack Sparrow! Don't you dare let this fool idiot make you feel like this is your fault! Not even one of these fools has bothered to even ask a crew member what happened or who shot that man!" she growled at him hotly.

The pirate looked up at her, seeming extremely pale, his features now sweaty as he blinked at her dully. She scowled at him even more, shaking her finger just inches from his nose.

"Jack, listen, Mr. Gibbs and I, we've been trying to tell you that these people are not really your friends. We know you don't want to believe it Captain – especially this one being Bootstraps' son and all – but he's just not his Pa, Jack – he'll never even come close to being the good and honorable man his father was. Look at the lot of 'em! They don't have the brains of a jellyfish between the three of them! Who are they assumin' shot that man, Captain? Have they even asked what happened? No – they're blamin' you – no matter what you've done in the past around them. Soon as there's even the slightest hint of trouble – they're the very first to accuse you of it. And something like this? After Port Royal's earthquake? You know who doesn't understand a man's honor around here Captain? Its' those brainless landlubbers is who! Those three wouldn't know the meaning of honor if it jumped up and bit 'em on the ass! You don't need their kind of treachery, Jack. You just don't need that."

The pirate captain seemed to swallow dryly as he gave the three of them a deeply hurt and shocked look, obviously pale and now swaying precariously and looking quite upset.

Finally he nodded, dropping his head as he turned to Mr. Gibbs with a very soft murmur, then suddenly half staggered dizzily. Both Anna and Gibbs caught him, both looking concerned as they exchanged looks.

"Jack – you said you had to know how the Commodore was, before you'd let us…. Well, you heard the Doc now, right? Come on lad…" Gibbs said gently and the one gave a very shallow sigh as he nodded, his head dipping lower as he murmured even more softly.

He took three steps, then stopped, swaying heavily with his hand to his head and a very pained look, and then suddenly his knees gave way. Quickly Gibbs caught him, as the pirate seemed to go completely limp in his arms, his head dropping forward as he gave a soft moan. Gibbs looked rather upset and worried as he gently pulled the man more away from the other three and then very gently laid him on the floor. Anna quickly knelt beside him, the pirate's head resting in her lap. The doctor came over without them realizing he had drawn that near.

"Good Holy Chr-!" the doctor exclaimed as he suddenly knelt beside the pirate captain. Elizabeth and Will both came over, the young woman gasping as she realized that the captain's right sleeve had been swathed in white bandages already – bandages that were now completely soaked with blood, as was his leg below the tie on his thigh, and as was his red bandana.

Quickly the doctor felt at the man's neck for his pulse and didn't seem at all pleased.

"Sword here at his arm… whets under the tie on his leg?" he asked quickly and Gibbs frowned at him warily.

"He took a mini ball to the thigh. Din' hit bone though, thank god – but its still in there." he said unhappily and the doctor looked more dismayed.

"Did anyone see this head injury happen? Was he unconscious at all?" he asked and Anna nodded with a dark look at him.

"Yeah, we had a hell of a time gettin' him to wake up after it was all over. Some fool hit him over the head with a belaying pin. He went down like lightin' hit 'em." she said and the doctor winced, frowning deeply as he examined the pirate's eyes, gently lifting first one eyelid and then the other.

"Okay, let's get him into my sickbay area." he told Gibbs, and froze as there came the sudden sound of a pistol being drawn and cocked. He looked up to see the dark skinned woman glaring at him hatefully, her pistol not even a foot from his very nose.

"If anything happens to Jack – I promise I will maroon the three of you fools on the smallest speck of land I can find in the entire Caribbean – and I will very happily sail away. Now - maybe you better tell us jus' what do you think you're gonna do to him?" she demanded dangerously and the man frowned at her, no fear on his features at all.

"Well, for starters, I'd like to get some pressure on these wounds so he doesn't bleed to death right here in front of us all. I need to get the ball out of his leg, unless of course you think he'd really prefer gangrene, amputation and a nice wooden leg? If the blood poisoning doesn't kill him anyway." he told her and she stared at him, and then slowly nodded with a still very wary look.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jack was first aware of an enormous cacophony of the largest drums in the world that had somehow taken up residence inside his splitting head. As if that weren't bad enough, his leg and arm both felt as if they were on fire and he couldn't seem to even finish one thought completely before a strange fog crept upon his mind.

He tried to move but found he just could not get his muscles to obey – tried to speak and only a low and miserable moan came out…. and quickly the fog came. Someone seemed to be calling him from far away, very, very, very far away. It was so hard to focus on the voice though – much too hard. He let that go and just drifted, only to have something blissfully cool and moist come to rest against his cheek and then his forehead.

He gave a shallow sigh and was dimly aware of someone taking up his hand and squeezing it gently. He tried to respond in kind, but couldn't tell if he'd actually managed to return the gesture, or just imagined he had before the thick, dense fog returned, this time sweeping away all awareness.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next thing he was aware of was of heat – a smothering heat that caused beads of sweat to slide down the sides of his face. He remembered the cool damp cloth and wished for its return, as if reading his mind that very thing touched him, daubing at his forehead, then at his cheeks and down his neck and chest. He tried to thank whoever was gracious enough to grant him such relief, but all that came out was a soft mumble.

Still, someone instantly took up his hand, squeezing it tightly and calling for someone to come. The pirate floated drifting in his fog, then felt someone lifting him up and putting a glass to his lips. Blessedly cool water was tipped into his mouth and he managed a very small swallow.

He tried to open his eyes and this time was met with a wild blur of color. He was given another sip of water and then very gently put back down. He blinked heavily and slowly the blur of color hovering over him resolved itself into the face of Elizabeth Turner. The pirate gave a shallow gasp of alarm, raising one arm as if to ward off her blow, and she instantly looked embarrassed and then upset as she took up his hand again.

"Jack – I'm so, so, sorry. Please don't…" she pleaded urgently, but he still gave her a very wary, rather hurt look and tried to pull into himself. Quickly a hand came down on his good shoulder to pat him gently.

"Shhh now – it's all right Jack," he heard somebody say and looked up to find the doctor leaning over him. Now the pirates' eyes widened even more as he gasped and seemed to pale, and the doctor frowned at him as the man's eyes started to look very out of focus and then slid closed and he went limp again.

Tears slid down Elizabeth's' cheeks as she considered him and the doctor pat her shoulder.

"It's all right honey – we have to give him some time, he lost a lot of blood and he has a severe concussion – but at least he woke up for a few moments …" he said and she gave him an upset look.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next time the pirate awoke it was to find himself alone with sunlight shining in the windows of the cabin that rocked gently with the rhythm of the ocean. He struggled to sit up, fighting the massive wave of nausea and dizziness that immediately swept over him.

After a few minutes he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and frowned deeply at the heavy bandaging on his left thigh and on his right arm. He touched the same that was wrapped around his head as he took deep breaths, trying to keep the dizziness at bay as he felt around for another shirt and pants. Finally he found some hung on the hook beside the bed. The shirt he could do by gingerly donning it, but the pants were certain torture to manage to get on and up. Putting on his boots nearly caused him to pass out alone.

He held onto the nightstand as he finally stood up, and would have surely fallen had it not been for the nearby wall itself. He slowly staggered his way towards the door, found his grey hat and carefully put it on, fighting to clear his vision and stay conscious. Finally he reached the door, got it to open and then stood, hands braced on either side of it, knuckles white with tension and the strain of his effort.

One of the newer young crew members noticed him in passing, did a strong double take, then looked again as if he could not believe his eyes. The lad stared for a moment – then suddenly changed direction, hurrying off towards where one would go to find the good doctor in his sick bay and the pirate frowned after him. Jack made a face of dismay. No doubt it would not be long before he had company now.

For his part, Doctor Cook stared up at the young sea man with an incredulous look to his features.

"Up? What do you mean he was up? Someone should have been checking on him for me pretty soon here… he can't possibly be up! He hasn't even been conscious!" he said and the lad shook his head.

"No doc! It was Capt'n Jack himself! Had that hat of his on right over those bandages and hanging onto the doorframe like he was going to fall down any second, but it was him I swear!" he said all in a rush, and the doctor rose with a concerned look and quickly followed the young man to said location – where he frowned even more at finding the room empty. There were no occupants of any sort, unconscious or otherwise! Quickly he looked around the deck of the ship, then up at the helms' wheel on the fantail - and shook his head in disbelief.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

_The reference to 'Port Royal's Earthquake' is from the POTC story 'Aftermath' that can also be found under my authors name here at FanFiction Net!_


	4. Chpt 4 Assumptions

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan Contact: Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Action/Adventure Rated: T for violence and innuendo. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

**CHAPTER FOUR – Assumptions**

Jack mean while had managed to stagger slowly along the wall to the railing of the deck. Slowly, very slowly he had limped his way heavily along the rail, fighting back nausea and dizziness but stubbornly determined to get there. Several of the seamen noticed him and smiled – gave friendly greetings. He gave a suggestion to one, who grinned as if delighted at the personally given order.

Finally, Jack reached the steps up to the fantail. By now he was taking deliberately deep breaths, sternly willing his legs to stop shaking and commanding his eyes to at least try to focus. One by one he managed the steps, but each seemed much harder than the last.

Just before he got to the top a wave of dizziness assaulted him, stopping him in his tracks. Had it not been for his white knuckled grip on the railing, he would have fallen backwards and been helpless to stop himself. He put one hand to his eyes as he tried to stiffen his knees and just command the dizziness to cease.

Mr. Cotton stood at the wheel of the ship with the blue parrot on his shoulder, watching his captain slowly making his way along the railing. He had to admit that Jack Sparrow just was not a man to stay down or be beaten – not if he had any say in the matter!

He watched as the injured Captain tried to negotiate the stairs – a task that was quickly exhausting the man beyond his strength. When the man stood only one step away, wavering unsteadily, his hand to his eyes and breathing very roughly and quickly, Cotton truly felt compassion for one so driven.

He lashed the wheel and went down to the same step the pirate captain stood on and physically put the man's arm over his shoulder and his other arm around the man's waist. The pirate Captains' head came up and he blinked at the elderly man dizzily, then breathed a very soft 'Thank you kindly Mr. Cotton." in a breathless tone, swaying hard against him.

Carefully the elderly man helped him up the last step, then supported most of the captain's weight to take him the short distance to the wheel. Generally, there were not many times when he sorely regretted the loss of speech or found the parrot could not convey his thoughts, but this was certainly one of them. He could feel the pirate shaking and trembling and up close his pallor was becoming absolutely extreme now.

Gently he transferred one of the pirates hands to the spoke at the top of the great wheel, and the man automatically got hold of another, now leaning fully against the thing, his head lowered and eyes closed as he fought off the encroaching blackness and forced himself to take rapid, deep breaths.

Cotton kept one hand on the very shaky man until he felt the pirate able to get his feet under him. He winked at the man and gave him an encouraging smile, very subtly keeping his own hand on the side of the wheel to keep the ship on its course. The pirate captain gave him a very grateful look and weak hint of a smile, then struggled to stand more at the wheel without putting his entire weight upon it.

There the man turned his blurry gaze to the ocean and wiped at his drenched forehead with his sleeve as his breathing slowly seemed to ease. Thus, Cotton saw the advancing physician long before the pirate realized the man was coming his way with a very black look. Behind the captain's back Cotton waved for the man to slow down. The doctor frowned mildly, but slowed his approach. It wasn't until the physician as half way up the stairs that the pirate seemed to realize he was there at all.

The pirate gave him a black look and reached for his sword that wasn't there and muttered an oath under his breath as he trembled visibly. Quickly he returned his hand to the security of the wheel but still glared at the intrusion on the stairs. The doctor halted and studied him, then sighed shallowly.

"Jack, I need to talk to you," he said and the one gave him an angry glare, his hand shaking as he wiped his sleeve across his forehead and swayed despite his grip on the wheel.

"All I want to hear from you is if Commodore Norrington is still among the living. If he is, then fine, go tend to him before I manage to get my hands on a sword. If he's not, then prepare to be left off at the first town we come to. So which is it man, yeah or nay?" he growled sternly and the doctor frowned more.

"Yes he's still alive. Look Jack, its been almost 2 full days since you passed out in my sick bay area. Norrington hasn't told us exactly what happened, but he has said that you saved his life, that it wasn't you who shot him." He said and the pirate still gave him a stony look, his features now completely pale and trembling even when holding onto the wheel.

"Then go tend to the man and stay clear of me. I won't warn you again sir." He growled harshly in a very formal tone, his eyes widening when the doctor came quickly up the stairs none the less to take him by the arm.

"Mr. Cotton, get that crate over here for him please." He ordered. The man slid it up and the doctor sat the pirate down on it. At first the pirate captain looked as if he intended to leap up again, but then seemed to grow extremely dizzy as he swayed severely and put his good hand to his eyes with a soft groan of misery. His head was just splitting with pain and the world just would not stop spinning around him nor would his vision clear and god, he hurt all over – in an incredible amount. On top of that he felt exhausted beyond anything he had ever felt in his life, and now here was this pest of a doctor jabbering at him nonsensically about who knew what.

Just as his eyes were about to close and the darkness overwhelm him, he felt the doctor pull him backwards to lean against him where the man held him easily. Being to dizzy to fight, the pirate relaxed into him. There wasn't exactly a lot of choice in the matter after all!

"Jack, take a swig of this for me – its rum." The doctor told him as he brought a bottle to the pirate's lips. With a trembling hand the pirate tried to lift the bottle, and now the doctor helped him take a small sip. The pirate swallowed, then sagged against him with his eyes closed, one trembling hand staying on the bottle. He used his other hand to wipe his sleeve across his forehead and the physician pat him gently on the chest.

"Easy Jack, relax. I've got you." He said very gently and the one seemed to relax into him even more, his eyes still closed and features easing. The doctor looked down at the pale man resting against him.

"Are you still dizzy Jack?" the doctor asked and the one nodded.

"Oh god yes," he murmured weakly and the doctor felt at his pulse at his wrist and looked concerned as the man seemed to relax into limpness against him.

"Jack?" the doctor asked and the one frowned mildly with a very, very shallow sigh.

"I'm tryin' mate, I'm tryin'" the pirate murmured and the doctor gave him a deeply sympathetic look.

"Can I suggest you lay down for a little bit?" he asked and the one shook his head just a bit.

"No, goin' from sitting to standing is one thing, going from laying down to standing, that's 100 times harder." He said in a slurred voice and the doctor looked more concerned.

"How the devil did you manage to get up on your own is the part I can't figure out." He said as if thinking aloud, and the pirate frowned, then struggled to sit up on his own and gave the doctor a wary, distrustful, dark look. He staggered to his feet and then to the wheel, where he latched onto it. The pirate's head fell forward to rest on his wrist as he sagged against the wheel with his full weight.

Instantly Mr. Cotton was at his side, his hand on his captain's back as the man's eyes again closed and he gave a very shaky, emotional sigh.

"Go see to yer patient Doctor, while I'm still too dizzy to remember much, or to care." He said very softly and Dr. Cook frowned at him, then rose and came over to him anyway, touching the man's shoulder lightly.

"Hush now – I promised you I wouldn't interfere unless I really thought it was in your best interests that I do so – even if you didn't agree with me at the time." He told the pirate gently and got a soft sigh as the only reply.

He could feel the pirate captain trembling and his breathing growing more labored the longer he insisted on standing at the wheel. The man's eyes were already closed and from close up his pallor was alarming. Finally it got so the man was shaking so constantly that the doctor was afraid he would simply collapse right where he stood, or leaned rather.

It was when the man's features started to seem slack and his breathing shallow that the doctor decided enough was enough. He stepped close up, physically loosening the Captain's hands from the wheel. The one gave a shallow frown and murmur without opening his eyes even as the doctor turned the man to face him. Almost instantly the man's knees started to give way now that his support had been taken away. Easily the doctor caught him, the man's head falling forward to rest heavily on his shoulder. The pirate murmured softly and the doctor looked down at him as if amused.

"Oh hush, you can have me drawn and quartered later, when you're feeling up to it," he told him, and Cotton gave him an appreciative grin, shaking his head as if amused. Gently the doctor sat the man back on the crate nearby and took up the bottle of rum to pour a liberal amount into the man's mouth.

The pirate swallowed and abruptly choked, his head coming forward as he coughed and nearly gagged and sputtered heavily - but at least he was definitely more awake now!

"Wha' in Great Neptunes's Seven Seas…" he started angrily, then saw the doctor and now scowled at him even more blackly as his anger quickly edged towards fury. The doctor quickly sat down right beside him, easily within the man's reach as he took the bottle from him and considred it and then him. At least the man didn't up and try to storm off, he thought to himself.

"Jack, I'm sorry. I had no right to jump to the conclusion that you were the one that shot Norrington. Not really. I don't blame you for being furious really but you have to admit, you are a pirate – right? Almost every pirate I've ever heard of would either have run like hell or fight back like hell when a ship of the British Royal Navy pulled up and started firing at them. Its not like what I thought was illogical – I just forgot for a bit that you are NOT just any normal pirate. I can't exactly say I know any others beside you personally – but – for what its worth – I honestly am sorry. That wasn't fair of me at all." He told him simply.

He dared to look over to find the pirate definately frowning at him rather deeply still, seeming very stiff and not at all relaxed – but not nearly as furious as he had been on the verge of getting. The pirate cocked one eyebrow at him warily and the doctor sighed and shook his head slightly.

"I didn't really mean it when I said I would help them hunt you down. I might have wanted to at first – but geez – pirates and naval types – you mix those up together and somebody is definitely going to get hurt! Its just part of the package! I'd end up debating with myself why you would shoot him versus why he couldn't just leave you the hell alone and go chase those that don't have nearly your ethics or morals. How much did he contribute to his own fate by just not being able to leave you alone? But I doubt very much anyone could get me to help them actually hunt you down. You have more grey areas to you and what you do than any man I've ever known in my entire life. Its not an easy black and white I'm afraid." He said very earnestly, then took a large swig from the bottle and grimaced as he swallowed it.

He looked at the man beside him to find the one still giving him a very huffy and rather put-out look, but at least now not in a growing rage. The pirate looked from him to the bottle he held and back with an unhappy frown.

"First you try to drown me with rum, now you sit here drinkin' it all FOR me? If you don't hand that over I'm going to be a LOT more than just 'sorely vexed' here," the pirate growled at him. The doctor considered him, then the bottle, then half smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, considering you JUST swore you were going to have me drawn and quartered at dawn, I think I'll keep it. You can't say its like I didn't give you your fair share of it first!" he told him, then took another sip and now sighed as if relieved at the sensation of it going down. The pirate gave him a very petulant and grumpy look, eyeing him up and down. Finally he just leaned across and grabbed it from the doctor's hand very brusquely.

"Give me that thing – Its not like I specified WHICH dawn it would be, now is it? Could be any one of them – you provoke me enough," he growled as he claimed his prize and quickly removed the cork to take a long and healthy swallow, wincing some as it went down and the doctor seemed amused but trying hard not to show it. He looked over to find Mr. Cotton looking rather well pleased. The elderly sailor gave him a sly wink and half hidden thumbs up gesture.

The doctor smiled a little more as he watched his patient quickly down another ounce of the liquid. He knew the pirate had not eaten a thing in well over two days, which meant the rum was going to hit him like a proverbial ton of bricks – and fast.

And sure enough, it was less than an hour later when Gibbs and AnaMaria came by to find the pirate captain leaning heavily on both the shoulder of the doctor and of Mr Cotton, apparently having a serious discussion of some sort with the blue parrot, his words well slurred and his stance not at all steady, nor his gestures even. They both looked rather surprised and quickly frowned at the doctor, who made sure they could see that he was quite ready to catch the unsteady man at the first sign of faltering.

"No' look here ya feathered fiend, I'm the bloody captain of this ship, and it ain't rig' fer creatures such as yerself to constantly be tryin' t' bite me – ye hear? Wot' ye got agains' Ol' Jack anyhow, hun? I ne'r done anything t' hurt ye! Ye really are a prtty' thing – just a bit snippity fer a bird if ye ask me…" the pirate captain was telling the feathered creature, who cocked its head at him as if mystified by his tactic of approach.

One gesture was apparently just slow and broad enough for it to dart its head forward and grab at the pirate's hand. Jack yelped as he leapt back and into the good doctor, his hand tucked under the arm of his jacket as he swayed severely and scowled at the feathered beast.

"Hey – cut th' out! I'll make ye walk the plank I will!" the pirate objected with a strong slur. Gibbs chuckled softly as he came forward to where the pirate was being stood back up by the doctor.

"Jack – he would just fly off the plank and right back up to the top of the mizzen mast. He didn't mean no harm – he was just seeing what ye were made of." The grizzled quartermaster told him as he came right up and pulled the captain's hand out from under his arm. The one looked rather disgruntled as he let the older sailor see his hand, which was bleeding very mildly on the edge of his palm.

"S'not fair – I n'er did nothin' t' him" he complained softly and Gibbs smiled at him.

"Here, lets go get that cleaned up Captain, just take a few seconds," he said as he gently led him towards the stairs down, steadying his every step, not seeming to notice the doctor following closely. All the entire way Gibbs kept his arm around the pirate's shoulders, slowly and carefully escorting him back to his cabin and then inside where he sat the man on the edge of his bed.

Without his even bidding him to, the pirate captain laid down, his eyes already closed as he gave a deeply relieved sigh and seemed to finally relax. In just a few moments the quartermaster was back with an alcohol soaked pad that he used to wipe the minor, shallow wound on the man's hand. All ready it had quit bleeding. He considered the man who lay with his eyes closed already as he still wiped the one's hand none the less.

"Just rest Jack, I'll come get you if anything comes up that you need to know about…" he told him soothingly and the one tossed his head slightly with a minor frown but his eyes still closed.

"Repairs – we need to make the repairs… that man o' war isn't gone… she's gonna come af'er us soon as she can…" he said rather dreamily and Gibbs frowned mildly.

"Its been a few days now Jack - we haven't seen hide nor hair of any sail on even the furthest horizon." He told him and the one shook his head mildly without opening his eyes.

"Head for Swallows Cove – full sail. He's coming Gibbs, he's comin'…. Not gonna be too happy we took his illustrious prisioner from him. Shoulda aimed higher – coulda sunk the damned thing…" he said rather driftingly and Gibbs moved closer to pat him reassuringly.

"Shh now Captain. All right – If that's where you wanna go, that's where we'll be headin' right away. You just rest now." He said gently and the one seemed to fade instantly into silemce. Gibbs looked up to find the doctor frowning at him severely.

"What man'o war? What prisioner?" he asked and the quartermaster sighed and shook his head as he rose.

"That French Merchant ship we thought we found, turned out to be a Spanish man 'o war sailing under false colors and disguising her gun ports. Didn't show her true nature til we were right on top of her, the bloody cowards. Said they'd trade us Norrington for Jack. Said they could get more money from the bounty on him than the ransom they'd get for Norrington and his two men. Course we told 'em to go to hell. Jack coulda' sunk 'em easy with our cannon – but by then we knew they had Norrington and his men somewhere on the thing…. So it got to be really close quarters." He said and the doctor frowned more.

"Jack had the chance to turn and leave, or just sink this other ship, but he wouldn't – because by then he knew they had the Commodore on board?" he asked rather increduiously and Gibbs cocked his head, and then nodded.

"Aye, that about sums it up Doc." He said and the one gave him a very surprised look.

"So, rather than save his own ship, Jack turned and fought this thing?" he asked and Gibbs half smiled.

"Not just fought it Doc, we managed to get aboard, find Norrington and his two men, get them up on deck and over to the Pearl, and damage their ship enough so it was them that finally turned tail and ran." He said and the doctor frowned.

"Where are Norrington's other two men?" he asked in amazement and the grizzled sailor grinned.

"Oh, they didn't have so much as a scratch on 'em Doc, so you ain't needed to see 'em. We been putting 'em to good use at separate ends of the ship. Just young lads if ye ask me." He said and the doctor looked stunned at the news.

"So – while I was standing there accusing Jack of just letting his crew murder the Commodore's men – of shooting the man himself, – you didn't even bother to correct me?" he asked and the man sighed heavily.

"Right about then my only concern was having you tell Jack if Norrington was alive or not. He'd refused to let anyone do anything for him until he knew. I din' care what you thought man, all I wanted was fer Jack to let us take care of him!" he said and the doctor sighed and nodded finally with a deeply thoughtful look at the now soundly asleep pirate captain.


	5. Chpt 5 Hide and Seek

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Rated: Mature Teen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings. Authors comments at end of this chapter._

Chapter 5: HIDE AND SEEK

AnaMaria frowned to herself as she considered the vacant deck before her. Jack could certainly be moody at times, and nothing about the most recent events were likely to have caused that to be a pleasant mood. And, just to add to it, the pirate captain had absolutely insisted on being up no matter what anyone else thought of it.

The crew had been wise enough to give the Captain his space, even if the doctor hadn't been quite so wise himself. But, last she had heard, Jack had won out on that contest of stubbornness and now the pirate seemed to be reacting more to the encounter with the Spanish man o' war then these so called 'friends' of his! The man had hardly touched his dinner due to his mood and she just wanted to assure herself that he hadn't passed out in some unseen corner somewhere.

Jack was a pirate - as were all of them, and while some of the newer crew members had been a bit stunned by the vicious nature of the encounter, it certainly wasn't Captain Jack Sparrow's first encounter with sudden death at sea. He had certainly caused his fair share of the same when the circumstances forced the issue. Besides, it wasn't as if the Commodore was dead! He, at least, Jack had managed to save!

She noticed that the top deck was unusually quiet for it being only a couple of hours after sundown. No lanterns with a group of men around them, no music, no tall tales, no laughter - Only those few who had been assigned watch stood silent sentry tonight.

She had already checked his cabin and found it empty. She wondered if the doctor knew he was up wandering about again. Quietly she made her way down from the quarter deck area and slowly explored the ship, working her way towards the bow. One dark silhouette she discovered turned out to be a canvas draped over a lumpy object of some sort, although it had startled her at first.

She reached the bow and still could find no sign of the captain. He had to be here someplace! She would just outright kill him if he had gotten dizzy and collapsed in some corner – oh yes she would strangle him with her own bare hands… and then, of course, wish fervently that he would open his eyes and be his usual, impossible self.

She headed below decks, but still had no luck, nor had anyone seen him since dinner time it seemed. She was just about to return to the top deck when the doctor came up behind her, as if to venture topside himself.

"How's the Commodore doin'?" she asked and he sighed with a mild frown.

"He's breathing better. With a little luck, I think he'll be alright." He said and she smiled mildly and nodded.

"Have you seen Jack tonight?" he asked in return and she gave him a wary look.

"Captain Sparrow has been a pirate for well nigh more than a few years Doctor Cook. Nothin' like this is gonna cause him any problems. I don' know where he is. Couldn' find the bloody fool. I looked, but he's probably off somewhere doin' whatever it is he's up to now." She shot back and he quickly scowled.

"What do you mean you couldn't find him?" he asked unhappily and she sighed at him.

"Doc, I'm sure Jack's fine. I've checked this ship from top to bottom and haven't seen even a hint of him - which means he's movin' jest fast enough fer me to constantly be just missin' him." She said as she went up the stairs to reach the top deck and he followed her.

"You don't mind that he's just - missing?" he demanded as he gained the deck . She stopped and turned and rolled her eyes at him as they reached the railing.

"Look mister - " she started in a very irritated tone and he cut her off.

"You may think he doesn't care - that it's not a big deal to him. But you ARE talking about a pirate who is known for his lack of bloodlust, who's lost a ship once to the fact that he would stand by that rule, rather than give into the wishes of his cutthroat crew. He must have some very strong feelings on the subject to stick by that call even when he's been challenged severely on it. He stood by his guns once on that issue and lost his ship. Yet even now he still stands by it, unless he doesn't have any other choice. Don't tell me it's just some casual matter with the man, or just whim and fancy. It matters to him - it must matter to him a lot. And what we ran into the other day isn't something you find every week. Not to mention that he was hit in the head awfully hard. I told you he definitely had a severe concussion, if not worse. Never mind, I'll find him myself." He told her, the last in a very disgruntled tone and then he headed off to the captain's cabin without her.

Ana thought for barely a fraction of a second and then followed right behind him, now frowning deeply as well.

After another half an hour and still no sign of the Captain, now she was beginning to get concerned. There were only a limited number of places on a ship where a man could go, and she swore that by now they had visited each one at least twice.

They stopped by the galley where a lantern was still lit and waited until the dour faced cook looked up at them. The man arched an eyebrow at her and she shook her head.

"Just lookin' fer the Capt'n, Scotch. You seen 'em lately?" she asked and he narrowed his eyes somewhat over a plate he was washing in a tub of steaming water.

"Meybe - what'cha need with 'im?" he asked back and she blinked at him in surprise and looked around. Suddenly she realized the room was warm, as if something had recently been cooked even though dinner was over by hours and he was still washing dinner ware items. He followed her gaze to the plate he held, and then gave her a hard glare, as if daring her to even ask.

"Was he alright?" the doctor asked and the man gave him a very wary look.

"Gibbs came and collected 'im bout half an hour ago. Brought a nice bottle of fine rum with him of course. The Capt'n was feelin' a bit better by the time 'e left." He said much more casually and the one nodded.

"Any chance Gibbs'll be takin' him back to his cabin soon?" he asked and the one shrugged.

"He might walk 'im around first - let him talk - say what he needs to. Keep 'im outta the riggin' so he don't crack his head open on the deck fer us." He said and the doctor nodded with an approving look.

The two left and the doctor sighed at the female pirate. "I need to get back to my patient. I'm sorry if I was a bit rough AnaMaria - but you know I was only thinking of Jack. He's only human. Long as he's with someone instead of off brooding by himself somewhere or feeling dizzy I won't interfere. You and I both know that if something happened, Gibbs would let us know immediately.." he said, and at her nod he left and went back to the infirmary below.

Ana returned to the deck and took up quiet watch on the quarterdeck where she could see down the long expanse of the deck. She sat and thought about what Dr. Cook had said. For somebody who had only first met Jack Sparrow not that long ago, he seemed to be good at figuring things out about the man….IF you didn't count him actually thinking Jack had shot his precious Commodore. To herself she could admit that yes, it would be like Jack to be a bit on edge after a things like this - more upset inside than he would ever allow to show outwardly.

She considered her lap in silence. It had never really occurred to her outright that Jack had suffered what he had from Barbossa because of his insistence on as little killing as possible - but from the stories, that was exactly what had led to his problems then. And yes he did stick to that even now just as firmly as ever. Odd rule for a pirate it was. But what about Captain Jack Sparrow was ever normal or as would be expected? The man was infamous for his oddities and eccentricities!

She looked up from her lap to see a lone figure now weaving its' way slowly along the rail with a limp, his step swaying in the way only one man ever walked, drunk or sober. She leapt up and quickly descended the stairs and then stopped, watching his progress along the railing. She heard no sound, but his one hand waved in the air slowly as if he were holding some inner dialogue with himself.

He came to a stop in the dark corner by the quarterdeck but didn't turn to come her way. Instead he stood there, hidden from observation by the moon shadows cast over the deck and seemed to stare out over the dark ocean. She went over to the railing herself, but some distance down from him, giving him time to realize she was therebefore she approached him.

He didn't even glance at her, but as she neared she heard him sigh softly. One hand rose from the railing as if he were about to say something, then paused in mid air and swayed unsteadily, then fell back to the railing. He sighed again, more heavily and shifted his weight, which put him off balance and he tipped over towards the wall to land against it with a thud and softly muttered oath.

Ana sighed as she took his arm and helped him back upright. Jack gave her a rather sloppy smile.

"I hear you got a bottle of the best from Gibbs did ye?" she asked as she gently resting a hand on his back. He nodded with a rather 'satisfied look'.

"I' shoul' see we're still on course -" he muttered as he turned and had to put a hand to the wall to make his way along it towards the stairs. Easily she stepped in front of him, hands on her hips. He stopped and looked up - then narrowed his eyes and frowned at her as if puzzled by her sudden appearance there. She met his gaze steadily.

"We're fine Capt'n Sparrow. Just fine. Same heading you asked for. Headin' straight for Swallow's Cove. You thinkin' uh changin' it fer some reason?" she asked and he frowned with one finger to his lower lip as if considering the idea, swaying unsteadily.

"No, don' think so -" he finally muttered and she smiled as she took him by his good arm and gently but firmly wheeled him around to face the other direction.

"Good! I do have somethin' I need t' bring t' yer attention. Was hopin' I'd run into ye before ye got t' the helm and spent the night there an' I forgot 'bout it." She said as she drew him back down the deck. Jack frowned at her suspiciously, one hand already up.

"Wha'?" he asked with a heavy slur and she smiled at him secretively as she still slowly drew him towards his cabin at the far end of the ship. Half way there he swayed into her heavily and she quickly put an arm around him to steady him.

"I'm fine," he muttered, shaking his head and rubbing at his eyes.

"Course you are Jack. Ain't nobody sayin' yer not." she agreed readily and he gave her a very relaxed smile.

"S' not every night you escort me t' my cabin by the arm on the false pretense of showing' me something' luv," he slurred lightly with a brief flutter of one hand, and she gave him a very surprised look.

"Oh, I'm not as drunk as ye think. T'was only 1 little bottle after all darlin''" he smirked, - and promptly tripped over a coiled rope and then over the other side of the coil and twisted as he fell heavily to his knees with a very colorful explicative.

AnaMaria had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at him as he rolled over to sit there, glaring up at her indignantly. One little bottle indeed!

_From the author:_

_Reviews? Oh wow, REVIEWS! Oh geez! I can't believe you guys even remember me or the first story I put up here! You are just incredible people – truly incredible! If anything at all, I expected a long list of complaints, if not worse! _

_I think just knowing that they are currently filming 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' has finally given me a spark of inspiration to start writing with again! Thank you so much everyone – I truly am more than amazed by your encouraging comments! I read them and wish I had something more to post that very instant – and then I go write it so hopefully I soon can! I actually went to a 'casting call' for Pirates 2 and 3 in Hollywood, and it was tons of fun for the day!_

_For those of you that had favorite parts of the stories that were removed to make room for this one – PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Most of the parts will show up again – just in a little different position and effect! Thank you again – and happy sailing to you all!_

_L'Morgan_


	6. Chpt 6 Stumblings

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Rated: Mature Teen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

Chapter 6: STUMBLINGS

AnaMaria couldn't help but grin as she offered Jack a hand up from his seat on the deck. He rose to sway unsteadily, hands coming up as if that would help him maintain his balance. She quickly grabbed him firmly by one lapel of his coat.

"No, but ye might be more so than ye think Jack - it was one bottle of Gibbs special brew. Ye know that rotgut the runners make is stronger than anythin' legal t' be sellin," She observed dryly and he seemed very amused.

She waited until he seemed secure on his feet, then took his arm again and nudged him forward. The pirate took one step and gave a soft gasp. One leg seemed to give out under him and he suddenly grabbed for her. He caught himself heavily as he swore vividly under his breath and she stood him up with a wary look.

He cursed as he limped heavily over to the rail where he leaned on it with both hands and looked down to very gingerly test his weight on one leg, making a face and wincing as he did so. He had been sore before, but now he was obviously feeling something more to it than he had been.

"Ut-oh – its not enough that you just had a miniball taken outta that leg, now you've gone an' twisted that ankle" she breathed unhappily. He shook his head emphatically.

"No, it's just sore a little bit. It'll be fine Ana." He growled sternly. She watched as he took another hobbled step, leaning on the rail as he did so, then another, then he paused and sighed rather unhappily.

"Here, come on – let me help," she said in a very 'don't you give me any trouble tone'. Before the pirate could protest, she stepped over and put his arm over her shoulders and hers around his waist and nudged him forward. Finally they got to his cabin where he let go of her to limp inside and over to the nearby table right away. He shrugged off his long grey coat and draped it across the table, then parked the tri-corner hat atop it.

The pirate very nonchalantly considered her, his arms folded across his chest, but no weight at all being put on one leg. She went about lighting a lantern and then almost fully closed the door of his cabin, leaving it ajar only enough to let in a little air, as well as any sudden calls for their attention.

"Sit down ye daft fool." She ordered. He immediately arched an eyebrow and looked rather disinclined to comply, until she pulled out the chair nearest and glared blackly at him.

"I'm fine. Now what' was it ye had to show me so urgently?" he demanded from his seat and she frowned at him as she pulled out the other chair nearby.

"It can wait," she growled as she took his injured leg and gently parked his foot up on the chair, and he let her.

"We need t' get that boot off yer foot" she told him.

"No we don't!" he reacted with quickly, pulling his foot back faster than was wise. His foot struck the floor with a solid thud and he gasped hard and froze, not even breathing for a few seconds as he did his best to ignore the fire that had just shot up his leg like a lightening bolt. She scowled as he sat there unmoving, finally just breathing very hard and fast.

She knelt on the floor and took his injured foot in her hands and before he was recovered enough to object, quickly removed the boot, causing him to jerk upright and swear quite forcefully. She backed up out of his reach, just in case. But he had turned away from her and towards the table, one fist clenched tightly as he sat hunched over, his breathing unsteady at first as he trembling visibly.

"Jack?" she asked as she went over after a few minutes and sat him back in the chair, noting the sudden slight dampness to his forehead and lack of color in his tanned features. He gave her a very weak smile as he struggled to visibly relax his body.

"I'd better get Doctor Cook" she told him and he quickly lunged to catch her by the wrist.

"Ye'll do no such thing Missy! The man is busy now - ye'll not be botherin' him over a silly twisted ankle! It is not the first time such a thing has happened and certainly it won't be the last! Besides, he's much happier taking care of the Commodore – who obviously needs him!" he exclaimed in a very commanding tone and she scowled at him, her eyes narrowing.

"I'll just wrap it up like we would any other time and by mornin' it'll be a lot better. Maybe I can talk another bottle outta Gibbs," He said as he rose to his feet and she firmly stood in his way.

"The only place yer goin' Jack, is over t' the bed, even if I have't drag ye!" she growled at him and he leered at her as he swayed noticeably.

"Ye intend on joining me now, do ye?" he purred very suggestively, one hand tracing a slow pattern in the air and ending up resting on her waist and sliding up her side. Before he got near her breast, she scowled at him darkly and shoved his hand away.

Then she slapped him, and hard!

His head swiveled hard when her hand suddenly connected in a very loud manner with his cheek. The pirate staggered back against the table as if shocked at the blow, his face a look of dark dismay.

"Don't you dare tell me you didn't deserve that Jack Sparrow!" she warned, shaking a finger at him.

"I was only playin'!" he protested and she ignored him, letting him mutter to himself as he rubbed at his cheek now.

With no further ado, she grabbed his arm and escorted him over to the bed, frowning at his heavy limp. She sat him down on the edge and he gave her a dark look.

"Now you stay put! I'll go get some bandages," she ordered firmly, shaking her finger at him and left the room.

As soon as she was gone the pirate was up again. This time he hobbled back to the table, then used it to go around to the other side of the room where stood the large cabinet. He had just removed a bottle of dusky color liquid when she came back into the room. The pirate startled severely, nearly dropping the bottle. Ana glared at him sternly.

"Painkiller," he told her ceremoniously with a loose wave of the bottle. She rolled her eyes and went over and scowled as he quickly backed up and away from her, as if he expected her to slap him a second time.

Avoiding getting to close, Jack limped his way back to the bed on his own, then very slowly and carefully climbed up onto it.

"Yes, get up there you daft fool," she instructed. He certainly did so, scooting back and up against the far wall and making sure he was well out of her reach. He uncorked the bottle and watched her sort out some long lengths of white cloth as he took a first long gulp at the bottle, then a couple of smaller sips.

She considered his very wary look as he watched her. "So are you going to let me take the other boot off?" she finally asked and he shook his head stubbornly, still glaring at her in distrust.

"I can do it m'self." He insisted, a bit temperamental sounding and she scowled at him.

"Would ye' quit actin' like a fool and give me yer foot?" she demanded and he gave her a stormy look.

"Why? Why on earth would ye want t' be botherin' with me now? Yer mad at me." he growled lowly as he looked away, rubbing absently at his cheek, then he took a very long swig from his bottle and swayed a bit even though he was already sitting down.

She watched as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly and then stifled a yawn, and then took another long drink from the bottle.

"Yer being a daft fool Jack - an' just because you get slapped sometimes doesn't mean the person doin' the slappin' means all that much by it. Ye know better than to say things like that t' me, ye black-hearted scallywag. Yer too tired for such things to be floatin around in that head of yers. Now quit yer fussin'," she said lowly and firmly as she crawled up onto the bed and slowly advanced on him, only ending when her lips connected with his rum flavored ones in a very lingering kiss that forced him back and down onto the pillow - not that he resisted too much actually.

The pirate didn't have any more objections to her touch after that.

She moved down and gently pulled off his other boot, then compared his legs side by side and frowned at the obvious puffiness and redness already developing around the one ankle. She ran a finger over the area very lightly and felt its heat even as he winced and rose up on one elbow to see what she was doing now.

"I can do tha' myself," he said of the cloth strips as he leaned forward to take one up and she snatched it out of his reach. "I can!" he insisted in a weary tone and she paused to consider him for a long moment.

"Take three more big gulps of yer drink first Jack," she said as if agreeing with him and watched as he did so quite quickly - and very generous ones at that. The pirate shook his head some after the last and swayed unsteadily even as he was half lying down.

If he hadn't been entirely drunk before, he looked as if the rum was hitting him full force now, judging by the dull look that was rapidly overtaking his eyes. She took the bottle from his slackened grip and corked it, but left it within his easy reach on the bedside table, a bit surprised at his lack of objection.

"What are ye gonna do about the Commodore and his men Jack?" She asked curiously and he half shrugged as his mood sobered some.

"I dunno – surely we could set all of them and the good Doctor ashore somewhere relatively safe. One of Norrington's men could walk to town and get help, let the other one and Elizabeth and Will and the doctor watch over Norrington. They'd be fine." He said thoughtfully. Ana raised an eyebrow at him as she began neatly wrapping his foot and ankle.

"You'd do that Jack? Leave 'em all?" she asked in a very neutral tone, but he still instantly frowned at her.

"I didn' say I was gonna leave 'em on some god forsaken rock in the middle of nowhere! Don't make it sound like that! It would be no more than a couple miles outside of some town or other…. Besides, they'd probably be more than glad if I did 'em that favor now." He said softly to his hands, avoiding looking at her.

Ana considered him for a moment and gave a silent sigh. It made her angry to see the mistrust and doubt the Captain's supposed friends had so easily created in the one man who most would swear couldn't care less. But – it would be the people who knew only the legend and not the man who would say such a thing. She knew the pirate far better than that.

The honest truth was that sometimes Jack Sparrow's heart led the way more than his desire for silver or gold ever would. And, sometimes the troubles that lead him into were as painful as any miniball or left scars as deep as any lash. It was a part of him that not many others ever saw.

"Jack, look – in just the last three days you've had stitches put in your head, had a miniball taken outta yer leg, stitches put in yer arm, and now a sore ankle. For awhile there, you had us all scart half to death, not wakin' up like you did. Cook says you had a severe concussion. I'd say we've seen better days Capt'n, that I would. Besides, its bad luck to leave a pregnant woman anyplace other than where ye promised you'd leave her." She told him.

The pirate looked up with one arched eyebrow.

"I've never heard Gibbs say that." He challenged coolly and she shrugged with a mild smile.

"Well I bet he will if ye ask him! Especially when that woman is the Governor's daughter? Now see here you daft pirate, I don't trust those folks with so much as a hair of a flea. But – well – when ye think of it, I guess we can't be too surprised at the wonderful ideas that jumped into their heads. Don't let it upset you Jack. What do they know about you really?" she told him, but the man only stayed quiet, staring down at a spot on the bed before him. He used one hand to rub at his eyes and a heavy weariness seemed to come to his features.

She pulled the other pillow over and put it under his injured foot, ankle and lower leg. When she looked up it was to find he had finally laid down, his eyes closed and features slack.

She had just risen, but not yet left when he muttered vehemently in a distressed tone, then bolted upright in the bed with a very alarmed and confused look. She rushed back and sat down beside him.

"Shhh, I'm here, lay down" she said simply and he did so in such silence that she couldn't tell if he had really been awake or not. She turned down the lantern, then got a blanket and spread it over him, then another, just to be sure. The man still had his eyes closed.

She sat a little closer to him and watched as he yawned extremely long and then rubbed at his eyes slowly with a fist and turned onto his stomach while muttering something she couldn't understand. To her vast surprise the pirate moved closer until there was barely any space between them at all.

"You feel the Pearl rockin' in the waves?" she soothed, as she gently brushed the dark locks off his face and he nodded barely at all. She smiled as he turned his face towards her and shifted so she could feel his soft breath on her arm. She used a hand to gently toy with the braids and beads in his hair and then smooth down the dark locks.

A soft creak alerted her and she looked up to find the good doctor himself standing there. She frowned and made the gesture for silence and he nodded, slowly comingcloser and resting his weight against the table, just watching.

She rubbed the pirate's back in slow, lazy circles and eventually felt him twitch mildly all over and then seem to melt into the bedding, his breathing slowing dramatically and deepening as now he truly slept. The doctor came over to gently touch the back of his hand to the man's cheek, checking his temperature. He sighed softly.

"He's still a little too warm, but at least its not as high as he has been the last couple of days." He said, then noticed the wrapping around the man's foot and frowned deeply.

"He'd been drinking and tripped over a rope and sprained it. He wouldn't let me go get you. Said you had other more important things to be bothered with." She told him rather gruffly with a decidedly hostile stare. The doctor considered her and then perched on the edge of the bed near the man's foot and very, very gently ran his hand over the outside of the wrappings.

"So important he'd like to drop us all off outside some town first chance he gets?" he asked quietly without looking at her as he continued his very light examination. If Ana was surprised, her expression gave nothing away as she shrugged.

"Just how do you expect him to feel – all of you accusing him of shooting Commodore Norrington?" she asked very bluntly and he sighed softly.

"I did apologize, try to explain," he said and she looked away in silence. He paused and studied her for a moment.

"Ana, I have no desire to hurt Jack – or any of you. I wouldn't be here in the first place if I did. That's not what doctor's do." He told her and she stared at him for a long moment.

"No, you're just going to help someone hunt him down is all? Look mister, you can't go sayin' stuff like that and then wanting to be all friendly like a cat want'n cream, and expect people to know just what tomake of you! Jack's already had one so called friend leave him on a deserted island to die, because Jack trusted him. His best friend didn't exactly go to any great lengths to stop them either. You'd better decide which side of the fence you're gonna fall on and stay there or you will find yourself left god only knows where at. We don't need your help making people feel bad for no reason." She told him sternly and he nodded quickly, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I agree there AnaMaria, I honestly do agree. But for now, could we please forget my great moment of profound stupidity and agree that we would both like to see your Captain healed and have him stay in one piece?" he asked sincerely and she considered him and then nodded and he smiled.

"All right then, well, I won't try to touch his foot if he's asleep. You've done a very good job wrapping it up actually. I'll wait until tomorrow to take my life into my own hands by trying to corner him and let me make sure that's all right for him to be walking on. No matter what you might think Ana, I just wanted to check on him is all. Just because he's awake and insists on being up, doesn't mean that all the effects of the concussion are completely gone." He said and she nodded as he rose and moved away from the pirate. As soon as he left the room, her hand went back to gently rubbing the pirate's back and absently fondling the wild stray hair, casually smoothing it down for him.

Several minutes later she considered his limp and relaxed features and gave a soft, fond smile that was reserved for very, very few in her life.

"Much better" she observed quietly to herself. Finally, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, gently pet down the dark locks one last time, then made sure he was well tucked in before she left the room. She closed the door quietly behind her, making sure it was fully shut so nothing would disturb him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Top of Form


	7. Chpt 7 Things Best Kept Hidden

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Rated: Mature Teen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

Chapter 7: Things Best Kept Hidden

Elizabeth Turner was dreaming of the most recent Christmas past, before the catastrophic earthquake had ripped apart what had been her world in less time than it takes to tell. She had opened a box to find a luxurious velvet dress of the most stunning blue and cream colored satin… and it had been a gift from her then brand new husband. It had been a gift she well knew they could not truly afford – which made her love him all the more.

Suddenly in her dream, the walls began to move, gyrating and quaking, buckling and groaning, and there had come the loud crashing noises of the roof beginning to fall in on them. She stared upwards at the large beam that would in mere moments be the end of her – and then sat up with a sharp, hard gasp, coming awake to find herself in pitch darkness. Severely shaken she reached beside her and felt the warmth of a body, then startled sharply as there came a heavy pounding on the door to their small cabin.

"Mr. Turner – Captain Sparrow wants you and the missy up on the deck immediately. Better dress warm!" a deep gruff voice growled. The man beside her turned over with an unhappy groan.

"I heard you the first time. Its not even daylight out yet! What on earth could be so important that we have to –" the blacksmith started grumpily and she quickly pat him.

"Don't bother asking Will. Jack's refused to even hold still long enough for either one of us to get within shouting range of him ever since he woke up. Maybe he's finally decided to listen." She offered. The blacksmith made a scoffing noise as he fumbled in the dark for his pants.

"Somehow, I have a feeling its going to be us that's doing the listening." He breathed with an invisible scowl. Elizabeth's heart sank a notch as she realized it was much more likely that he was the more correct of the two of them. As they entered the area before the stairs to the upper deck, they realized that Doctor Cook had also apparently been rousted just as unceremoniously, and was none too pleased with it. They followed him up the steps, to step onto the deck and stare around them in true amazement.

Gone was the wind – gone was the spray of the sea – and gone was the motion of the ship being driven by the sails above. Above them and behind them was sheer, deep, unyielding blackness – while beyond the far railing came an eerie, unearthly yellowish glowing. They heard the sounds of men laughing far away – but it came from beyond as an unnatural echoing ghost. There was the sound of metal on metal, but not in the form of swords. Oh no, this was the often dreamed of sound of coin on coin – and not a small amount of it. Elizabeth and Will both flashed back on a cave where once they had each had a knife held to their neck – a knife that left them both with scars that still vividly marked their palms. Instinctively they clutched at each other and Will put an arm around her as he stood still, taking in the sounds – and lack of them as well.

"We're in a cave," he said softly. Elizabeth beside him felt her stomach drop down to her toes.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," she breathed shakily. He gave her a reassuring hug as they followed the doctor slowly making his way to the far railing. They came up beside him, Elizabeth standing between the two, and all three gasped as their eyes widened.

Below them, in piles that seemed to extend almost as far back into the blackness as one could hope to see, came the glimmer of gold and silver, gem and jewel, trinket and treasure of almost every imaginable size, design and stature. Candlesticks as tall as a man, chests of wood that could hold three men easily, goblets and pearls and diamond encrusted baubles, and just uncountable wonders – all heaped along the sides of what seemed to be many, many tunnels that led off from this central area.

The eerie illumination came from a series of carved stone urns that were spaced equally along what had to be the shoreline and ran back into each arm of the labyrinth of tunnels. Looking to one side they saw a makeshift gangplank of floating barrels attached to logs and tied each to the other so as to create a 'dock' of sorts by which more of said items were being transferred from the hold of the ship they stood upon. Like an army of ants, the cheerful pirates teased and chattered to each other as they traveled too and fro, each time carrying off the booty to different areas of what was already amassed.

"Its like Aladdin's cave," Elizabeth breathed in true wonder as she drank in the marvelous sight.

"Ali Babba and the forty thieves? Well, I suppose that could be taken to equate with pirates," mused a familiar, drawling voice from a darkness to one side, and then the pirate captain stepped out from the shadow. He stood by the rail, one hand resting casually on it as he seemed to consider the events transpiring below. After a moment, he half sat on the railing, letting one leg hang off the ground and brought up his pipe that was also already aglow and inhaled slowly on it, eventually giving out a small cloud of smoke.

The smoke from his pipe gently wafted past them and the doctor abruptly turned to him with a deep frown, suddenly staring at the pipe as if rather alarmed. He took three steps towards the man.

"Jack – that's not just tobacco…" he started in a very serious tone and the one used the hand with the pipe to wave him silent.

"Hush man. As of this moment you three are NOT in a rowboat, floating adrift in the deep blue sea, and most likely attracting the attention of a few rather large and curious sharks who are thinking of adding the likes of you to the breakfast menu. If you would prefer to keep the arrangement, quid pro quo, I would strongly suggest you be on your best behavior a bit longer." He said in a throaty growl and the doctor fell silent, but now seeming much more intent on the pirate than on the enormous depository of wealth around them.

"I have laudanum Jack. It would be better for you than what you're using. It will help with the pain I promise." The doctor persisted still. The pirate seemed to ignore him, but now took a much deeper and longer draw on the pipe and held his breath for a long, long moment before finally exhaling the cloud. He looked up at the doctor with a dead serious stare.

"YOUR laudanum is locked up in Mr. Gibbs chest – or it sure as hell had better be. You use that on me and I promise you will be fish food faster than you'll even know what hit you." He threatened lowly, in a very dangerous tone, and the doctor quickly raised both hands in surrender. He recognized that tone and knew better than to mess with pirates when they got to sounding like that! He had just backed up to rejoin the two younger adults by the railing when AnaMaria came up from below decks and headed over to them.

"I don't know what you did to that man, but he seems fine just now Jack." She said cheerfully and he gave her a gold toned smile and shrugged, inhaling on his pipe again, but shallowly.

"Nothin' that'll hurt him near as much as moving him without it would have. Is he comfortable?" he asked and she nodded.

"I told 'im we'd be bringing the doctor over in the next skiff or two, but he didn't seem too worried. Said he'd rather be with his men though. I told him you wanted to be sure he got the best care available so he'd be staying in your quarters." She told him and the pirate laughed softly as if truly amused.

"Oh I would have loved to see the look on his face when he first saw that!" he said and she grinned and nodded.

"The tiger's heads over the bed - he noticed that right off." She said and he grinned and ducked his head, coughing mildly as he nearly choked, imaging the man's surprised reaction.

"Surely a Commodore of the Royal Navy has seen a tiger or two!" he reacted with and she grinned widely.

"I doubt he's found many ocean swimming large cats like that Jack." She said and he smiled and gave a half shrug, lazily swinging his foot.

"Who's coming next Capt'n?" came Gibbs' voice from below and the pirate looked down at the water where sat a small flat bottomed row boat.

"The good doctor and the young Mr. Turner. An' if they give ye a hard time, ye have my permission to pull over and leave 'em in one of the tunnels for awhile." He said and both men quickly frowned at him.

"I'm not going without Elizabeth. She's my wife Jack – she's pregnant!" Will told him sternly and the pirate nodded, giving him a rather devilish leer.

"Which are exactly the same reasons that the young Missy will be accompanying me. Gentlemen, this is not an issue of choice at the moment. You are presently inside the cave, and we need to get you outside the cave…. And that will be done in the manner I dictate, not either of you. Now if you really must insist, we will happily leave you here in the cave, and in a few more hours when the urns burn out you may discover just how well you can or cannot see in true and total darkness. Now you will don these yourselves, or not, the choice is up to you. But this, we will be doing MY way." He said in a fully authoratative tone as he offered up two black silk blindfolds from the pocket of his coat.

Dr. Cook frowned at him severely.

"Am I to take it that you have already had my patient moved from the ship?" he asked and the pirate nodded.

"Yes, and I am certain he is eagerly anticipating your arrival. Its not very nice of you to keep the good Commodore waiting, doctor." The pirate said silkily with a abstract wave of his other hand lazily through the air. Will and Elizabeth both stared at him. The doctor met his gaze with a very discordant frown.

"Since our pirate friend here, has been partaking of the opium weed in that little pipe of his, and has probably given it to my patient as well, I will not debate the issue here and now with anyone. But we will discuss this later Jack – you have my word on that." The man growled as he took the blindfold and headed towards the gangway that went down to the dock that had the small skiff parked beside it. Will gave Elizabeth a very uncertain look. She squeezed his arm.

"Go ahead Will. I'll be fine here with Jack." She said firmly. With great reluctance the young man left her, paused to look back at least 3 times, then finally went down to the dock as well. Elizabeth cautiously looked sideways to find the pirate giving her a very calculating look. Suddenly she realized that AnaMaria had vanished with the two men. She could hear the female pirate's voice down below, instructing them on where to sit in the skiff.

Her heart sped up a bit at the realization that she was alone with him now. She swallowed hard, but then steeled herself, refusing to give in to the strong urge to move away from him. The pirate turned his gaze to watching the small skiff slowly move away, AnaMaria checking the blindfolds on each of the men while Gibbs and another sailor rowed them towards one of the smaller tunnels. Soon they had disappeared entirely. Elizabeth shivered mildly and crossed her arms over her chest. There was a very long silence that hung heavy in the air.

"Are you afraid of me, Miss Swan?" the pirate asked softly without looking at her. She turned and studied him for a long moment, then dropped her arms and shook her head.

"Maybe I should be – but no Jack. I'm not afraid of you." She said in a reassuring tone. The pirate was silent for along moment, then gave a soft sigh.

"I really can be quite despicable, dastardly, whatever all the rest was…" he said very softly, still staring out at the happy men stashing away a large fortune in swag below. Elizabeth blushed brightly as she turned and moved away from him and considered the empty deck of the ship only for a moment. Then she spun back, frowning mildly at him from behind now. She cocked her head as she moved up the railing and parked her hands on her hips.

"Mr. Sparrow, I'm not entirely sure I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk." She said, deliberately repeating the exact tone that had been used the last time she had been alone with the pirate by firelight.. Even from beside him she could see the flash of the gold toned smile.

"I'm afraid I don't have any rum handy at the moment luv," he said, casually offering her the pipe instead. The young woman hesitated a brief moment, then took it from him. She put it to her mouth, took a wee, tiny breath and instantly puffed out a tiny bit of smoke while making a face of extreme dismay. She quickly gave it back.

"Oh the rum was definitely better – much so!" she reacted with in a surprised tone, making a face as if the bad taste still lingered in her mouth. The pirate chuckled as he rose, unending the pipe over the side of the ship and knocking the remaining contents into the water below.

"Come with me young missy. I think we can scare up something to get rid of that for ye." He said, draping his arm casually around her shoulders. Elizabeth stiffened at first at his casually familiar touch, but went along with him. Within seconds she realized he was limping heavily and actually putting some of his weight on her and perhaps there was another reason for the placement of his arm than what she had first thought.

She slid her hand around his waist and slowed their pace. Jack looked down at her, but made no remark or effort to refuse her assistance. Finally they reached the entrance to his cabin and even there she showed no sign of hesitation, seeming intent only on helping him move along.

"Jack – there has to be some way we can both pretend I never said those perfectly horrid things…" she said as she opened the door and lead the way inside. The pirate gave her a rather surprised look, one eyebrow raised as a smug smile came to his features. She gave an exasperated sigh and half swatted at him.

"You know what I mean Jack Sparrow! Now please Jack – here, where's the rum? We need to discuss a few things and come to an accord, my straight out of the story book pirate." She said and then left him at the table and began to rummage in the chest he indicated. In just a moment she was back with the bottle of rum and a very small glass. She poured some into the glass, then took it and sat down beside him and at the same time pushed the remainder of the bottle towards him.

The pirate considered the bottle now in his hand and then her as if thinking, then leaned forward and nodded.

"Aye, drink up me hearties yo ho," he said with a soft clink of his bottle against her glass. She nodded agreeably, repeating the phrase after him as she met his gaze with a warm smile.

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	8. Chpt 8 No Place Like Home

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Rated: Mature Teen for violence, innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

Chapter 8: No Place Like Home

William Turner the Second was greatly relieved when the small boat his one and only beloved wife was in finally came into view in the lagoon that was the heart and center of this strange and unique island. Slowly it came up to the sand beside the log and plank pier that was built to extend out into the water. He hurried over as AnaMaria hopped clear of the dingy. He helped the female pirate pull the small boat more up onto the damp sand. The only people in the boat had been Elizabeth, Jack Sparrow and the dark skinned female pirate.

"What happened! It's been hours since Dr. Cook and I got here. Everyone else has come already. What went wrong!" Will demanded worriedly. The pirate shook his head as he rose and swayed a bit.

"I do happen to be the Captain son… The Captain is always the last to leave the ship, whether she be tied up at a dock or sinking to the very depths of Davey Jones Locker." Jack told the younger man as he stepped carefully over the short side of the boat and winced hard as he did so.

Elizabeth went to her anxious husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She stood near him and now considered the thick jungle expanse before them and the large lagoon they had just crossed. Across the lagoon she could make out what appeared to be a steep rise in the land that led up to bluffs on each side of what should be the entrance to the cove – only instead of being able to see the ocean beyond, the area was completely shrouded with a thick, slowly twirling mist that lay between the two sentinels.

Looking up she realized that the high, ragged edge of the bluff actually encircled the entire island, looming above the forested slopes that came all the way down to where they stood.

"This is certainly an unusual island! Why can't we see the ocean out there Jack?" she asked and the pirate considered the direction she had indicated, thumbs tucked casually into his belt.

"Waterfall. There's a large one up on the top of that bluff that falls all the way down to the water level in one sheer drop. Kicks up a constant mist like that all the time. But then, if we can't see out, that means no one can see in at the same time, savvy?" he asked and she smiled at the word.

"They've only let us go up this path to the building where they put the Commodore. Mr. Gibbs told us not to go anyplace else or there would be 'all hell to catch," Will told her rather unhappily. She turned to the pirate who nodded casually.

"Yes, you may go as you wish along the beach here – but only where there is sand, and up the pathway to the longhouse, as we prefer to call it. But I do ask that you limit your investigations to only those areas for the time being." He said rather absently as he surveyed the high edge of the rock wall that ringed the island as if searching for something.

"You're not exactly a very trusting soul, are you Jack…" came the Doctor's voice as he came down the walkway from the nearby jungle. The pirate gave him an annoyed look, but it was Ana who scowled blackly at the doctor.

"And you expect him to be? Now? With the likes of you?" she asked indignantly and the elder stopped and gave her a sigh with a hands up gesture and looked about to say something.

"Enough – the both of you!" the pirate suddenly growled in a very 'no nonsense' tone and they all turned to him. The man sighed as he limped a little ways off from all of them, then turned to consider them for a moment and his normal subterfuge seemed to fall away.

"Look – the truth of the matter is that this is NOT a place I ever dreamed of bringing any of you, much less the military elements. There are other people who live here - who also did not have any say as to whether or not I brought all of you here. All I am asking is that for the sake of common courtesy, if nothing else, that you stay in the area of the one place I can bring you to that serves as our 'guest house' - of a sort. We won't be here all that long really – at least I certainly hope not. There's no huge mystery involved – but going traipsing through people's gardens and property is not usually something anyone, anywhere, appreciates. Is that so much to ask?" he said with a both hands out gesture and an utterly sincere and earnest tone. He straightened and gave them all an extremely direct stare, his hands parked on his hips.

All three of them quickly looked away and seemed uneasy. Will rubbed at his ear while Elizabeth considered the sand. There was a long uneasy silence and the pirate began to frown.

"Alright then, if that seems like an incredibly impossible request to ask of you –" he started very sternly, and it was Elizabeth who quickly looked up and came to him shaking her head as she met his rather black stare.

"No Jack – no its not too much. We will be only too happy to comply, won't we William, Dr. Cook?" she asked a bit firmly. Both looked up and the blacksmith quickly nodded.

"I need my medical bag off the ship Jack. No one thought to bring it, and I doubt you have all the medicines I need for the Commodore. Nobody told me that when I got up that we would be leaving the ship. All the man said was that you wanted to see me on deck right now, and then later I didn't think to get it myself." The doctor interjected as he came up to the pirate who took a few uneasy steps back to lean away from him with a dark look and one hand up warily.

The doctor stopped when he realized the man's position and read the body language.

"Quid pro quo – I'll have someone get your bag – and you agree to stay within the area specified. Do we have an accord?" the pirate captain asked very seriously and the doctor quickly nodded.

"Very good then. If you will come this way then," Jack said with a casual wave of his hand and limped slowly across the sand to what appeared to be the beginnings of a concrete walkway that lead off into the jungle. As soon as the pirate reached the trees and was standing in the shade he stopped to lean against one of the massive palm trunks, his head down for a minute and with his eyes closed and a rather pained look to his features.

The doctor stepped up to him on the same side as the injured leg and ankle. The pirate startled, swaying hard and unsteadily as he gasped softly, then immediately started to try to extricate himself from the doctor's hold, leaning rather than taking another step to get away. Despite his rather obvious hint, the doctor only looked down at the man's legs as he put his other arm around the pirate's back and gently straightened his stance.

"Shhh – Hush… Here, let's at least get you up to the house where you can sit down and THEN you can continue growling if you care to. I know it's a fair bit to walk still." He told him, not giving the man time to object as he started him forward again.

The pirate quickly grabbed the one's arm as his step was forced and he obviously put much of his weight on the elder. It took them a bit at the injured man's slow pace as the path wound through the trees in a very twisting and twining trail.

"Ah, here we are!" the pirate finally exclaimed as he came to a stop beside a large upright rock and shook off his helper. The others caught up with him and for a long moment just stared.

What stood before them could only be described as amazing! It was definitely a one story building, with two large even sections, divided in the center by what appeared to be a covered area that led to a recessed door. Wooden shutters were opened over the windows, and the area around the building had been cleared of plant growth and had gravel carefully spread along the walls.

They followed Jack up to the recessed area, to find its roof was made of long tree trunks with palm fronds lashed to it, providing a large shaded area before the door. The door itself was arched and made of wooden planks with only one handle and no sort of lock or bolt to secure it. Even before they reached it, several of the ship's crew burst from the doorway, wide grins and happy smiles abounding at seeing their Captain finally putting in his appearance. Elizabeth noticed that several of the men were now accompanied by women – women they appeared to belong to even and that had certainly not been on the ship!

In a moment they came to the entrance of what seemed to be a large central room that boasted an inset stone floor over its entire expanse. At the far end, directly before them was a sunken and stone lined fire ring, with the ceiling above it open for a space then above that some kind of blackened tin cover. To either side were large wide archways with 3 steps leading up to each in turn.

The pirate ventured further into the room, then paused to look back and seemed amused by their silent staring around them in surprise.

"Oh come on, its not all that bad!" he exclaimed and Elizabeth reacted first, shaking her head.

"No, its amazing! Who did all of this?" she asked and he sighed and shrugged.

"Actually, it was back during the days after the mutiny. I ended up taking a slaver ship, and we needed a place to hide out and found this place quite by accident. We relieved them of their cargo, ye might say..." He replied with a casual wave of his free hand.

"Most of the stuff used in making this is natural materials from the island. The concrete, well that we managed to pick up from a merchant carrying construction materials. Its just basic shelter. There's a covered area out back with native style clay ovens for cooking, The boys and I have added little touches here and there since then. Its kind of a 'continual project' ye' could say I guess." He remarked as he carefully limped up one of the sets of the stairs.

"You used slaves?" Will asked darkly and the pirate laughed softly and shrugged with a dismissing gesture as he kept going across the room.

"Well that depends on who you be askin' whelp! Them that wanted transport back to the Congo in the end, we took back. Those that wanted to stay here and farm a patch of land and become tradesmen on their own, stayed here. Not a lot of them were all that eager to continue on the American Colonies or the Caribbean where they might be considered slaves on the loose for just anyone to gather up and try to put back on the market!" he said and the young blacksmith gave him a definitely surprised look. The pirate shrugged as he continued across the room.

"Believe me boy, they weren't exactly reluctant to be set free from that thing. We treated them with the same respect you would any man, and most of them were more than happy to pay for their property here, or passage home, by helping us build what we needed. A man's not quite a slave when he's earning land he can consider his own - or when he's earning a means to get back to where he probably already had land of his own to begin with. Now the slavers we took them from – THEY seemed to think we had absconded with their slaves who had a monetary value each, and I'm sure they think so to this very day. I just never could get used to the idea of the whole slavery thing myself I'm afraid." He said as he reached the other end of the room and they all followed him.

"So, you set them free, or took them back where they came from, at your own expense Jack? You set all those people free who would otherwise be slaves today?" Elizabeth asked in an awed tone, and the pirate turned to give her one of his rather smug looks with a wave of his hand.

"Oh don't get me wrong luv, I wasn't out to challenge the social conditions of the world – I needed a place built – I had the materials, and they wanted to be somewhere besides destined for the auction block. I can assure you, we managed to pick up a few goods over on the Ivory Coast and bring them back to make the entire enterprise lucrative for myself and the boys. I'm not quite the humanitarian you're thinking up there young Missy, so you just cut that out right this minute. It was an exchange – a business accord, an agreement between gentlemen lets say. Nothing more to it than that, savvy?" He said firmly and she grinned even wider as she nodded. The pirate seemed satisfied and stepped into the room beyond. They all followed close on his heels.

This room was even bigger and had a plank floor. All along the walls were 'berths' of a sort, each with 2 wooden bunks that had drawers under them for storage, and 2 plain wooden chests between the bunks. One shuttered window sat above each pair of chests, and one metal lantern above each bunk. At each end of the room was a round iron cast stove with a length of split wood nearby while the metal pipe chimney extended up towards the roof. At the far end of the room, in the center of the wall was an open archway and from beyond came the sound of soft voices.

The pirate stopped some ways from the arch, his hand waving to a beat none of the others could hear as he seemed to draw himself up somewhat. He surprised them all by suddenly heading for the doorway at a very solid steady pace that relaxed into his normal wavering sway as soon as he crossed the threshold into the room.

"Ah, Good day gents, Commodore Norrington, I trust you are comfortable?" he asked casually with one of his sweeping gestures.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


	9. Chp 9 The Commodore and the Captain

**Eden Isle**

_By: L'Morgan_

_Only Disney owns or can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-for-personal-entertainment-and-giving-back. Can I be any clearer? NO profit being made here by or for me!_

_Rated: Teen for some violence,light innuendo and some language. Mild W/E pairing, J/A pairings._

Chapter 9: The Commodore and The Captain

The room they all followed him into caused both Will and Elizabeth to stop immediately and stare wide eyed. The floor was planking as the rest of the building, but in the center was a Persian rug so large it nearly covered the entire floor. Directly ahead of them were two high arched windows full of paned glass that had a 'wavy distortion' to it. This distortion dispersed the light that came through so it fell softly into the room, illuminating it well.

A large weathered sea trunk with a rounded top and wrapped with leather bands and brass tooling sat between the two windows. To the right was a dark wood desk with a bookshelf along the wall beside it and behind it and a lantern on the corner. Beside the window was a large overstuffed chair with a small table and lantern set beside it as well. The wall above it bore a woven tapestry depicting a rather bulky man with dark hair and a long dark beard, seated upon the back of a black tiger, clad in clothing of the orient with fronds and ferns in the background.

To the left was a very large actual English type bed, complete with bolsters and a quilt of many patched together swatches of colorful cloth. Along the far wall were mounted the heads of two extremely large tigers, expertly preserved through the skill of taxidermy. At the foot of the bed was spread out a large tanned skin of black fur that faintly showed tiger stripes. A small table separated the large bed from a much smaller one set against the wall. There in the smaller one lay Commodore Norrington, propped up with several pillows behind him.

Between the beds were two small chairs, currently occupied by two very young looking men. They looked up at the pirate with wide eyes and seemed a bit alarmed at his sudden entrance. Both had hair down past the shoulder but neatly tied back, and were still clad in the britches and shirts of their military uniform.

The Commodore looked up, a tea cup in one hand and the blanket folded down neatly over his lap and with a small bed tray beside him. But instead of frown, the Commodore seemed almost shy, quickly smiling as he nodded in answer to the man's question.

William and Elizabeth both looked around the room for a very long moment, drinking in the details. Both of the young men seated beside the Commodore seemed very nervous, as if wishing they could be suddenly invisible, which only attracted the pirate's attention all the quicker. He gave them a gold toned smile as he came to sit on the foot of the larger bed, just behind them. He seemed amused as one of the younger men swallowed quite dryly while staring at him as if transfixed.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet gentlemen. Last time I saw either of you it was when I was trying to pick the lock on that cell you were in. What's your name lad?" he asked of the first who had already blushed at the mere mention of his former place of incarceration.

"Lewis – sir. Lewis – Dartmouth." He said and the pirate nodded and looked at the next who looked even more alarmed at his presence.

"Matthew sir, M-m-Matthew J-Johnson, sir," he said with a nervous stutter. Jack considered him for a moment.

"How old are you lad?" he asked and the one looked up and gulped hard.

"17 sir." He managed in barely a whisper.

"You like the Royal Navy? Has it been what you expected?" the pirate asked and the young man quickly nodded very much so, as did the other beside him.

"And you, young Mr. Dartmouth? How old might you be?" Jack asked and the one smiled.

"19 sir." He said smartly and the pirate seemed even more amused, considered them for a moment and then straightened up carefully.

"Very good then. Now, do you think I could ask the two of you to go out to the patio behind the building and offer your services for the afternoon to the lovely ladies you will find there? I'm afraid we were not exactly expected and having nearly 60 guests suddenly appear for dinner is probably a bit stressful? Just tell them that I sent you for the day. I do know they will be needing some firewood fetched, and water." he requested. They both looked at Commodore Norrington who quickly nodded.

"Yes gentlemen, please do anything Captain Sparrow asks of you for now." The military man told them and both left the room. As soon as they had gone the pirate sighed heavily and removed the hat from his head to set it on the bed.

"What, you don't think my intentions are to have them stewed for supper? You're slipping mate, you should never trust one of us dastardly pirates," he warned the military man as he lightly rubbed over his sore thigh. The Commodore gave him a wan smile.

"If you don't mind the observation, you look as if you belong in bed almost as much as myself. Someone told me this is your quarters when you are here. I appreciate you letting them put me here, but I'd much rather be quartered with my men if I could. There's no need for you to be inconvenienced…" He said and the pirate shook his head.

"No, my boys tend to get a bit rowdy at times out there – and at the best some of 'em snore at night like they're cuttin' down trees. Don't worry about your lads Commodore. If they were workin' for me I wouldn't let either of 'em even take part in a raid – or anything else dangerous. Not at so young an age as that. People around here – they all appreciate my opinion about what constitutes 'being of age' you might say. They'll treat 'em exactly as what they are – young boys trying to figure out how to be men on their first time away from home, hearth and kin. I can positively assure you that we won't be recruitin' them to join us." He said and the military man gave him a grateful look.

"Will you be able to repair the ship properly here? Wherever here is?" the Commodore asked and the pirate nodded as he sagged where he sat, his features seeming tired and worn now.

"Aye, we should be fine. Most of it was sail and railings. But, they get replaced a lot, which means we keep it on hand. Have a cannon to switch out, but that's not a real issue either." He said and the military man raised an eyebrow.

"You keep extra cannons on hand - here?" he asked in a surprised tone and the pirate smiled and shrugged with a hands up gesture of innocence.

"All the things in that cave that we saw… You went back for the treasure at the Isle de Muerta, didn't you Jack? Can't you just buy whatever you want now?" Will asked and the pirate gave him a smirk and gesture of innocence.

"Dear Young Mr. Turner, have you forgotten? I can assure you that we truly are pirates," he said and the Commodore smiled even more, although the blacksmith looked rather doubtful.

"Ah, but exactly what kind of pirate is the question, isn't it Sparrow? You risked your life, your ship, the lives of your crew, everything in the hold – just to get three members of the British Royal Navy out of the hands of some gone-rogue Spanish Captain and crew." The Commodore said and hesitated, tilting his head as he considered the man who should be his eternal nemesis, instead of his salvation.

"It's not exactly as it was with the disaster at Port Royal this summer. No, this was more of a true choice on your part. This wasn't just bringing back people and leaving goods – this was choosing a course of action that meant having to fight them. And considering it was on behalf of my men and I, not one I would ever expect a pirate to make. Why didn't you just leave?" He asked and the pirate seemed to think for a moment, head bowed, as he touched the bandage around his head very gingerly with one hand.

"A moment of temporary insanity?" he asked back and then winced at finding a sore spot on his head and now the military man chuckled softly. He quickly quit laughing as the pirate seemed to close his eyes with a pained frown, his hand still to his head as he swayed mildly. When he finally opened his eyes it was to find the doctor standing right before him, making a very intense study of the man.

The pirate gasped softly in alarm as he tried to move away, one hand coming up defensively as he gave a very dark scowl and leaned as far sideways as he could, hissing under his breath and obviously not very happy at this sudden apparition that stood before him.

"Whoa Jack, hush, – relax," the doctor quickly reassured, but the pirate shook his head, trying to get up but apparently not having the strength or balance to do so just then. The doctor frowned deeply as he attempted to steady the man by his good shoulder. This seemed to cause the pirate to struggle harder in his attempts to get away.

"No, no, no – you'll only make it worse trying to do that – please - let go of him. He doesn't take well to being man-handled." Came an unfamiliar female voice in a very stern, authoritative tone.

They all turned and did strong double takes to see a woman come in, clad in a traditional nun's outfit. All of them stared in sheer disbelief as the nun came bearing a steaming cup of tea and moved with a very graceful air as she sidestepped the doctor to reach the pirate.

"Captain Jack – shhh now, it's all right," she soothed as she lightly touched his shoulder and offered him the cup of tea. The man immediately stopped his protest and looked up, obviously relieved to see her, and even letting her give him a gentle half hug. He sipped at the tea cup and instantly made a face of bitter dismay and coughed hard – and then gave her a reproving look.

"You forgot something Sister Mary," he said and she smiled at him fondly.

"Its got a dab of rum in it already and that's all your getting with the kind of head injury I've been told about. And don't bother trying to con any more out of me, you daft scallywag. You're lucky I put any in it at all for you." She told him with a mild Irish brogue and watched as he sipped again at the cup and made a face of dismay. Much to the pirate's annoyance, the good doctor, the young blacksmith, his darling wife and the military man all seemed rather amused with his situation.

The nun smiled at all of them, one hand absently smoothing down the dark hair on the pirate's back.

"Ah – how nice to meet you all! I heard we had visitors this time!" she said as they all considered her rather intently.

"Is – is there a church on the island?" Will asked and she smiled and shook her head.

"No, actually there isn't." She said and the pirate looked up as if amused and then introduced each of them to her. Dr. Cook gave the man an amused smile.

"I had no idea you were Catholic Jack," he said and the pirate did a double take at him and nearly choked on the tea.

"Who me? I'm not that insane! No – actually its' my mother who tends to hold with Church attendance…. And no, she's not here, she's back in jolly old Britannia." He said and now the others looked a bit puzzled. It was Sister Mary who smiled at them.

"When the lad was shot by his very own father,it wasIthe hospital sent to care for him at the family estate. I had worked in the various hospitals of our order for a very long time, and the lad was not expected to survive. Lady Stuart had asked the church to send the priest to give him the last rites, and Father Joseph suggested I come along so someone would be there with her when he passed, besides just the physicians." She said and they all looked thoughtful.

"He must have had very good physicians." Dr. Cook observed and she sighed and nodded.

"His majesty's own as a matter of fact. Still he was given the last rites 7 times in a one month period – its quite the miracle that he managed to stay with us." She said fondly of the man and the pirate gave her a rather incredulous glare.

"You don't need to be telling them this Sister." He warned sternly and she gave him a nonplussed smile as she stroked down the dark hair and discretely rubbed his back a bit.

"Oh hush now Captain. True, when you decided to leave long before you were truly well enough to, I never expected that coming with you to here was going to be a long term arrangement, but its all worked out wonderfully I must admit. Besides, I don't want anyone getting the slightest idea that I am somehow here against my will or that you picked me up somewhere and brought me here by your own design. In fact, as I remember, you were a bit loud in strenuously insisting you did NOT need a nursemaid to watch over you on the trip home." She said and he seemed amused and then shrugged and sipped more at his tea.

"And I was right," he pointed out and she laughed softly.

"You came back with him after he was shot? I was under the impression that had happened many years ago. You've been here ever since?" Dr. Cook asked and she nodded.

"Well, no, it hasn't been all that long actually since that happened. Not long at all really! When we finally got here, he went to a small town not that far from here and hired out on a ship bound for Tortuga. From there he set out for Port Royal, where he met Miss Swan, and the good Commodore and young Mr. Turner. Shortly afterwards he was able to bring the Black Pearl here for refitting and repairs. So, it hasn't been all that long in reality." She said and they all looked surprised.

Dr. Cook frowned mildly at the pirate who finished his tea with a shudder of disgust and grimaced at it and set the cup aside and rubbed at his forehead. Sister Mary seemed to instantly notice.

"You're still having a headache and bouts of dizziness." She stated without question and he half shrugged.

"Oh its' nothing compared to how it was at first. Nothing to worry about." He dismissed with a short wave of one hand and she arched an eyebrow at him, then moved to pull the pillows up and stack them against the headboard as were Norrington's and the pirate gave her a dark look.

"I really don't have time for this sort of thing. I just wanted to be sure the Commodore had been properly situated before anything else. I'm certain Dr. Cook would appreciate any assistance you could give him in seeing to our esteemed guest." He told her, but she kept up what she was doing, preparing the pillows behind him at the other end of the bed. Finally she finished and stood there, looking at the pirate very expectantly. The man glared back most stubbornly and looked about to voice his rejection when she raised a hand with one finger upright.

"Jack – it's the first day the ship is back with us. The most essential things have been unloaded and the boys have brought up their things and stowed them away. Half of them are up at the swimming hole or over at the waterfall by now getting cleaned up. You know as well as I do that you've always let them go early the first night to spend as much time with their loved ones as soon as possible. Do you have some intentions of changing that?" she asked seriously and he shook his head.

"No. That is what I want the first night we get in." He agreed and she smiled mildly.

"All right then, you also know then, that aside from dinner, which won't be served for a few more hours, that there isn't anything that urgently needs your attention now or for the rest of tonight. I myself can tell you that things have gone well. There are no vital matters waiting for you to see too this time. The boys all know they're expected back tomorrow at noon for assignment to a work party of some sort or other. Now don't argue with me. Just get up here." She told him and the pirate shook his head some, quickly half wincing and putting a hand to it.

"I can't… we have – guests." He said and she considered the others just briefly and smiled at them kindly.

"I'll see to our guests for awhile Captain. Now get yourself up here. There is a package of correspondence I suppose you can look through – and I'll even throw in a small glass of rum. Do we have an accord?" she asked cheerfully and the pirate gave her a sly smile.

"Only a small glass?" he asked and she grinned and pat the pillows.

"Get up here ye black hearted scoundrel" she teased and indeed now the man rose slowly and came up, seeming relieved as he crawled up onto the bed and sat with the pillows behind him. The nun left and returned in a moment with a dark glass and a leather satchel that bulged noticeably. She gave both to the man and watched as he quickly took a long swig, and he made a face of distaste.

"Its watered down!" he objected strongly with a 'looks-that-could-kill' scowl and she sighed and pat him anyway.

"When you're not having dizzy spells and over this head injury – I'll make it up to ye lad, I promise. Besides, its not all THAT watered down." She said with a gently stroke of the dark hair and the man gave a soft sigh but didn't protest further.

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Commodore Norrington dimly became aware of what sounded very much like a mouse rustling somewhere close by. He shifted uneasily in his sleep with a vague frown. He must remember to get more mouse traps as soon as possible. In his dream he stomped the floor, but the rustling continued. Finally he turned over onto his side and hugged the pillow closer, but still the noise continued.

Slowly he came awake and realized he was not in his home, not in his kitchen, but sleeping in some hidden pirate's lair! He was just contemplating how he could possibly explain all of this, when suddenly there came the sound again.

He opened his eyes to find a dim light in the room. He turned towards it to discover that the pirate captain was sitting at the desk in the corner of the room, a wooden box of some kind open beside him. The mouse-like scratching was the sound of the pirate's quill pen as he wrote on a piece of paper at length.

Norrington shifted, getting comfortable and arranging himself so he could watch the man without the pirate being aware of it. He frowned as he realized that the pirate had removed the bandage from around his head, and seemed very engrossed in his work. He watched as the man seemed to finish whatever he was doing on the page, blotted it dry, blew on it lightly for a few moments, then carefully folded it and put it in an envelope that he went about affixing a wax seal to on the back.

Norrington realized the pirate was using the embellished side of the silver and onyx ring he wore to create a 'seal' in the cooling wax, then he set the envelope aside and pulled one from the box beside him. From the stack of sealed ones to the man's left and seeing that there were very few left in the box, Norrington guessed that the man had been at this task for some time.

Norrington dozed lightly on and off as the pirate opened the new envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper, read it thoroughly, then took out a clean sheet of paper and looked in the book at several pages before beginning to write on the page. His strokes were fast and with ease, well practiced and apparently with some flair. This one he quickly finished and added to the pile and now took out another as he sat back in his chair and picked up a nearby mug to sip at its contents as he considered the outside of the envelope curiously. The pirate gave a long yawn and put his elbows on the desk to rub at his face tiredly, not realizing he was being observed by the drowsy military man.

The pirate opened the letter, holding it in the area of light cast by the lantern as he sipped at his cup. Suddenly the man bolted upright in his chair, eyes wide with surprise as he gasped and then choked on what he had been drinking. The pirate leapt to his feet, coughing loudly and long, apparently having inhaled some of his drink. His eyes were watery when he finally quit and now he seemed shaken and pale as he half fell into his seat, eyes glued to the page before him.

"Ye blasted lily-livered bloody fool! I do NOT need this now-" the pirate breathed in a deeply upset tone as he carefully flattened the sheet beside the lantern and now read it again. Norrington came more awake at the pirate's emotional tone. Jack was obviously breathing hard all of a sudden and seemed to be fumbling with anything he touched, his hands shaking and features suddenly extremely pale and reflecting shock.

For a long moment the pirate parked his elbows on the desk and put his hands to his eyes and stayed that way, still and silent. When the pirate still had not moved after several minutes, Norrington stirred, making sure the man heard him.

Sure enough, as soon as he moved, the pirate used his sleeves to wipe at his eyes, and leapt up from the desk, crumpling the page and stuffing it into his pocket, then he looked over at the bed with a very wary and guarded countenance, his expression one of tension and fatigue – both easily noticeable.

"Sparrow? What time is it?" Norrington asked softly, and the man froze for an instant, then came around to the corner of the desk where his face would be in shadow and there he stopped, leaning against the desk.

"Um – they just rang five bells a little bit ago – little after 2:30 in the morning. My apologies if I woke you" He said as he sat back and claimed his cup from the desk and sipped at it, his hand still trembling visibly, which he refused to acknowledge. Norrington sat up in the bed and rubbed at his eyes and then frowned mildly at the man.

"Can I get you something Commodore? Would you like a drink of water? Do you need me to summon the doctor?" the pirate asked, his voice husky with suppressed emotion. Norrington shook his head.

"No, no – I just – ummm – shouldn't you be in bed yourself?" he asked and the pirate just shrugged as he retreated shifted into the shadows more, drinking more from his cup.

"I have been already. Its' fine. I'll go in just a few minutes. I'm pretty much finished up here." He said as he gestured loosely at the desk. Norrington gave a long yawn and gave him a sleepy frown.

"You really should be in bed Sparrow. It's the middle of the night" Norrington observed and the pirate half shrugged as he stood up away from the desk and sat the cup down and went to the other corner where he retrieved his long grey sea coat and carefully began putting it on. Now Norrington frowned even more at him.

"Oh, nothing to fret about Commodore – I will be soon enough. Just want to take a reading off the north star for the charts is all." He said casually and Norrington's eyebrow shot up his forehead.

"We are not at sea at the moment Sparrow, You need the horizon at sea level to be able to do that," the military man reminded, and the pirate froze solidly for a long moment with his hands on his lapels.. He finally straightened, then went about adjusting his coat as if the military man had not made such comment, one sleeve brushing roughly over his cheeks as he sniffled softly.

"Yes - that is true Commodore." He finally admitted very softly, claiming his cup and coming closer.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" the pirate asked, his voice husky and wavering with emotion. Norrington couldn't see the man's face with the light of the lantern behind creating only a silhouette form, but he could observe the mug shaking in the man's hand. The pirate looked down, and put his other hand to the mug as well to steady it. There was a long silence.

"Is something wrong Jack?" Norrington asked him in a genuinely concerned tone. The pirate reacted to the military man using his first name with a heavy wince, then he abruptly straightened up and headed for the door with several crisp, sharp strides and paused at the doorway.

"No, I give you my word Commodore. Now go back to sleep please? I won't be very long. You need to rest." He said in a suddenly gruff tone, then turned and abruptly left the room. Norrington could hear his forceful stride as he crossed the room full of slumbering sailors, then came the distant sound of the front door of the building being opened and closed. He was still sitting up and wondering exactly what had happened, when the doctor appeared at the doorway clad in sleep pants and shirt and with a candlestick in hand, seeming quite tousled and half asleep as he came over to his patient.

"James? Are you all right? What's wrong? I heard a noise – I think." He asked as he quickly felt at the military man's forehead and then at his neck and then at his wrist as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"No no – its not me. It was Sparrow you heard." The commodore told him and the man looked over towards the big bed and quickly scowled.

"Oh no – if he's up wandering around, I swear I'll strangle him!" he breathed, and James quickly shook his head.

"No, something upset him.." He said and the physician arched an eyebrow at him.

"No, he truly was Doctor. When I woke up he was doing some sort of correspondence and didn't realize I was awake. One of them made him suddenly start coughing and shaking when he read it…. When he realized I was awake, he pretended nothing was wrong at all…. Said he was going to take a reading from the north star for the charts before he went to bed. When I pointed out to him that we are not at sea – you have to be at sea to do that – he just froze for a moment, then he took off out the door. I don't know where he's gone or why, but he was very upset. No Captain of a ship just happens to forget for a moment that he's not at sea. I certainly don't believe Captain Sparrow could mistake this building for his ship." He said and Dr. Cook suddenly seemed wide awake as he frowned darkly.

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